Behind Brown Eyes Book One:Before the Clone Wars
by DanUpdike37
Summary: Basically my take on the Star Wars universe starting a few years before Episode 1 and ending at the end of the Yuuzhan Vong War. Will mostly be canon until the events after Return of the Jedi, where my character takes control of the Order instead of Luke
1. Civil War

Okay i've split chapter 1 up a little bit better so it's almost readable now. if anyone has any advice or comments- good or bad- let me know and i'll see how i can improve the story.

*1*

34 BBY

"Happy 13th birthday, my young Padawan. Are you ready to settle a border dispute?" Master Cin Drallig asked, as Daniel Updike waited outside the Council Chambers. "Thank you, my Master. I am ready whenever you are." "We will be heading to Ryloth with Master Jinn and Padawan Kenobi. Two rival Twi'Lek clans will declare war on each other if we do not intervene." "When do we leave?" "At 0700 tomorrow. As my present to you, the day is yours." Daniel bowed and thanked his Master before heading to the library, where he found his friends Brandy and Ryan waiting for him.

"Happy Birthday, Dan," they both said together as he took a seat next to Ryan and they started talking. "Master Plo and I leaving tonight on a diplomatic mission to Alderaan," Ryan started. "Master Yoda and I are negotiating a deal to have Geonosis return to the Republic," Brandy replied. "Master Drallig and I are leaving for Ryloth tomorrow to deal with a border dispute of two of the head clans." "Well we have enough time to do something together for your birthday. So where should we go?" Brandy asked. "Let's go to Kuat's Yards and see what he's working on this year," Dan responded.

They borrowed an airspeeder from the hangars and made the 10 minute journey through the airlanes to the parking platform of Kuat Drive Yards before taking a lift down to the yards, where they were greeted by Kuat himself. "Master Yoda and I have been good friends for a long time, so I shall show you four things that other visitors are not allowed to see." As he finished that sentence, Dan glimpsed one of the best looking fighters he had ever seen.

"This is the ETA-2 Actis-Class light interceptor, being developed for the Jedi Order. One of our new subsidiaries, Kuat Systems Engineering, will be responsible for manufacturing and delivering this ship to every Jedi in the Order once it is no longer in the prototype phase," Kuat said proudly. "What is the capacity for people?" Ryan asked. "One pilot and one astromech droid."

"Armament?" Dan asked. "Laser cannons and two light Ion Cannons. Cargo can hold 60 kilograms and enough supplies for two days of survival." "How long before the first production will run?" Brandy asked. "There are quite a few bugs in the design and testing, but we can have them in production within the next ten years," Kuat replied, before herding the three young Jedi into the lift to view the Capital Ships. ***

"Report, Lord Maul." "The target is dead, my Lord. All witnesses have also been dealt with. Our plans for the trade embargo against Naboo are ready when you are, Lord Sidious." "Patience, Darth Maul. The embargo is a few years off. The time is not yet right." "What is thy bidding, my Master?" "Return to me, Lord Maul. Return Home." "Yes, Master." ***

"Have a safe trip," Dan told Ryan, as they shook hands. "May the Force be with you," he replied, as he and Master Plo boarded their cruiser. Brandy and Dan watched his cruiser until they could see it no more, and then went down to the mess hall to get some food. "Looks like it's just us now," Brandy remarked, as the two of them walked to the Room of a Thousand Fountains. ***

"Are you ready for this?" Master Drallig asked, as his apprentice set his robes aside and called his lightsaber to my hand. "We'll find out, won't we," Daniel laughed as we bowed to each other. As with every other sparring session, Daniel allowed Master Drallig to press the attack first. He started his attack sequence with a slash at Dan's knee, which he batted away with ease. Dan had some trouble deflecting the stab at his shoulder, but easily dealt with his diagonal hack at his chest. ***

"Do you understand why you lost, Daniel?" "Not entirely, Master." "Master Windu would say it's your overconfidence. He is a good friend, but it had nothing to do with this. The reason for your loss to me is simple- I have mastered every Form there is to master. You did well, my friend. I see you have practiced more of Form Three." "Yes, Master. Soresu has helped me understand the intricacies of defensive patterns."

"And you have polished up your Ataru." "Yes, Master. Master Qui-Gon has instructed me in these last few weeks since our last sparring session." "I can see you becoming a great Jedi, Daniel. In time, you will hold the title of Battlemaster as Master Bondara does now." The Master and Apprentice bowed to each other before going their separate ways for the evening. Dan returned to the Room of a Thousand Fountains for a time to meditate before returning to my room and going to sleep. ***

"Ready to go?" Qui-Gon asked, as the four Jedi boarded their cruiser. "What is our mission, Master?" Daniel asked Qui-Gon. "A bounty hunter has made an assassination attempt on Tol Rooshan. We are to find the bounty hunter, discover who set the bounty, and find a peaceful solution. Our prime suspect is Sol Sivron, head of the Sivron clan. He resides in the capital city of the Nightlands, Sal'Kaasa." "Who's the bounty hunter?" Obi-Wan asked. "A Mandalorian named Kal Skirata. He'll most likely be found in the Nightlands," Master Drallig responded. "How can you be sure, Master?" Dan asked.

"Because Sol is there, in Sal'kaasa. With Rooshan still alive, the bounty cannot be collected. Security has been beefed up so Skirata can't hit him in his own city. He'll have returned to Sivron for orders," Master Drallig replied. "Obi-Wan, you and Daniel will go to the Nightlands. Track down and detain Skirata until you have discovered who has put up the bounty. Should we fail… Ryloth will have war within the month," Qui-Gon finished. ***

"Welcome home, my apprentice." "Thank you, Lord Sidious. What is thy bidding?" "For now, rest. In two days, you will leave for Ryloth. There is war growing, and you are to help it along. Seek out the being by the name of Sol Sivron. He has information regarding the last resting place of Darth Malak. Contact me once you… obtain this information. I am leaving for Naboo, to congratulate the newly-elected Princess Amidala." "Yes, my master. I shall do as you command." ***

"We're interested in this speeder right here," Daniel told the lot manager. "Excellent choice. How long would you like to lease it for?" "Three days, maybe four. We need it to head to the Nightlands," Obi-Wan responded. "Let's talk credits," the manager said, flashing us a toothy smile. "You do not want our credits," Obi-Wan said, waving his hand towards the manager.

"Yes I do want your credits," the owner said, somewhat angry at the implication that it was free. "You DO NOT want our credits," Obi-Wan tried again. "No credits, no speeder," the owner of the lot said angrily. "Half now, half when we don't need a tow back here," Dan responded while the manager eyed him suspiciously. "Fine. Half now, half later." He handed him the credits and we got into the speeder. "Do you remember the route?" Obi-Wan asked. "Memory like an elephant, Obi-Wan. Let's get moving." ***

"I think we'll head to see Sivron first. We should both get a reading from him and see if anything doesn't add up," Qui-Gon suggested. "It sounds like a plan to me," Master Drallig agreed as we started up to the palace. "Your apprentice is very wise, Cin." "He and Obi-Wan make a great team, even though they are ten years apart. I think Daniel will be a Knight soon enough. He can be overzealous and cocky at times." "Side-effect of youth, old friend. We were there at one point," Qui-Gon laughed. "Very true." "He'll one day trade cockiness for being more reserved, just as we did." ***

"Well, it looks like I can't be cocky anymore," Dan said, as the apprentices started walking. "Memory like an elephant," Obi-Wan mocked. "Hey, that was NOT my fault. How was I to know that twenty people wrecked their speeders there in the past two days?" "I hope you have enough credits to cover the speeder," Obi-Wan chuckled. "I hope you do better with the mind trick," Daniel laughed in response. ***

"Esteemed Jedi! Welcome to my home!" Tol Rooshan boomed, as Qui-Gon and Cin entered his estate. "We have come to negotiate a peaceful solution between your clan and the Sivron clan. How can this be achieved?" Cin asked. "I'm afraid this will not be solved easily, Master Jedi. Sol is an old friend, but he has recently become a bitter old Twi'Lek. He will not roll over easily, and is already assembling his militia," Tol replied gravely. "When are you to do battle?" Qui-Gon asked. "In two days, we are to meet. I will be forced to kill my friend if a solution cannot be found." "It will not come to war," Master Drallig responded. ***

"We're easily a day away from Sivron's palace," Dan puffed, as they continued jogging. "Let's go for two more hours, and then rest for the night," Obi-Wan replied. "We can't stop, Obi-Wan. If we rest, Ryloth will have civil war." "We need some help, then," Obi-Wan said, grabbing his comlink. "Master? Master, are you there?" Obi-Wan called. No answer. "Master Drallig, do you read?" Dan called into my comlink. "We don't have any connection at all." "What can possibly disrupt our comlinks?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Nothing comes to mind. They haven't come in contact with water, and there aren't any people around here to use disruptors. It makes no sense that the comlinks don't work," Dan replied, before feeling a pulse through The Force. "Get down!" he shouted, as a wrist mounted rocket hit the stone where Obi-Wan was just seconds before.

The young Jedi leapt to their feet quickly, drawing and igniting their lightsabers as another rocket exploded at their feet. Daniel reached out to find a man on the cliffs across from them drawing his blaster rifle, before using The Force to yank the rifle from his hands and pull him from the cliff. Before he hit the ground, Dan set him down a foot in front of Obi-Wan and himself. "Why do I get to deal with _Shabla_ Jedi?" he grumbled aloud beneath his helmet.

"Let me guess… Skirata?" Obi-Wan probed. "At your service," he said, before taking a bow. "Why did you attack us?" "Sivron paid me to deal with ANYONE who attempts to interfere with the war effort. Nothing personal, son." "What made him decide to declare war?" Obi-Wan asked.

Dan called Kal's blaster rifle to his hand and ejected the power cell before handing it back to him. "Rumor is, there's a cemetery somewhere in the Nightlands." "So?" "It has a crypt that holds Darth Malak's spirit inside." "How much?" Dan asked. "Beg pardon?" he asked in response. "How much do I have to pay you to not only stop the hits again Rooshan, but also lead us to the crypt?"

"The hit on Rooshan was ten thousand credits; passage to the crypt is another three," Kal responded, as Daniel handed him the credits. "Here are sixteen thousand. Keep it," Daniel said, much to Obi-Wan's dismay. "How are we to return to Rooshan's palace?" he asked. "I'll take you there after the crypt. Why did you overpay me…?" "Daniel. Daniel Updike. I overpaid you because your family needs you to bring dinner home to them." The gratitude on Kal's face was easy to read. "Let's get moving," Obi-Wan replied. ***

"Something in all this is not right," Cin told Qui-Gon, as they went to our supplied quarters for some rest. "I sense it, too. Let's see what progress our Padawans have made," Qui-Gon replied. Master Drallig thumbed in his Padawan's code and hit transmit. "Daniel? Daniel, are you there? This is Master Drallig. Daniel?" No reply. "I'll try Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon replied, though he also got no answer. "Can you reach them through The Force?" I asked Qui-Gon. "They have no presence. We can't contact them at all. Are there any deep water sources along the route they set?" "None until you get within 30 meters of Sivron's palace. There's a Class One rapid, but it can't have been strong enough to take them away."

"What do you believe it is?" Qui-Gon asked quietly. "It must be an echo of the Dark Side that is restricting us from communication. Nothing else makes any sense why we cannot contact them." "I thought I felt something when we landed. What do you think it is? Or who?" "I'm not sure. But I think it is influencing Sol Sivron." "It would explain why he suddenly declared civil war on an old friend," Qui-Gon rationed. "The padawans will be fine. We must trust in them and remain here." "I agree with you, my friend. Let us get some rest." ***

"It will be two hours before we arrive at the crypt, so I suggest that you Jedi get some rest," Kal observed, as they flew across the plains in his ship. "I think I'll do that," Obi-Wan replied, leaving for an empty cargo hold towards the rear of the ship. "What drove you to bounty hunting, Kal?" Daniel asked, sitting in the co-pilot's chair. "More of a need to make credits than anything else."

"Have you ever considered being a detective or becoming part of a security force?" He laughed out loud. "In case you didn't notice earlier, I like my weapons far too much to become a detective. Couldn't deal with all the rules and regulations they have." "How does your family feel about that?" Kal's jaw set quickly, and his face hardened. "I haven't talked to my family in a long time. My wife, Illipi, is not Mandalorian like I am. She wouldn't let me take my boys into battle when they came of age like tradition allows. Six years ago, she took my two sons and my daughter and left, divorcing me on the spot. I send them every credit I can spare." "I'm sorry." His face hardened again.

"I don't need your pity, Jedi, nor do I want it. What about you and your family?" "I don't remember much about them. The Order takes us when we're discovered. I was two years old when they found me." "_Shab._ Don't you remember your mother or father?" "I remember my dad somewhat. Not really any images come to mind, but I remember the safety I felt with him." "Do you feel safe in the Order?" "I feel very safe in the Order, but it's not as strong as it was with my dad. How old are your children?" "My oldest son, Tor, is 24. Ijaat is 22, and my little girl Ruusaan is 23." "What about being a Temple Guard?"

"What are the regulations?" "No kill shots, only stuns." "What are we talking for pay here?" "Starts at 80 thousand credits, with a chance at advancement in two to three years." "I make twice that in a good year." "And what do you make in a bad year?" "Sixty thousand was the worst I have ever done." "Think about it, Kal- steady pay, housing and transportation provided, and benefits you won't find in this field." "What kind of benefits?" "A month's paid leave every year. Full medical coverage. And you will have a chance to purchase new ships before the public ever does, at a discount of ten percent." "Son, it sounds like a great deal to me. Where do I sign?"

"At the Temple back on Coruscant. Once we're done here, I'll give you my personal recommendation and you'll be a part of the Guard. You'll be given a standard mind probe to make sure you're not trying to commit any sabotage against us, but you'll start right away when you pass, with a choice of assignments ranging from escorting Jedi on missions like these to going undercover to help the Order." "Maybe you Jedi aren't as bad as I thought you were," Kal laughed. "I was just thinking the same thing about you Mandalorians." ***

"I wish none of this had ever happened," Tol Rooshan said mournfully as militia poured into the city. "Are you sure that no truce can be reached?" Qui-Gon asked. Tol sadly shook his head. "Sol will see no truce come to pass. This time tomorrow, we will be at war," Tol said before leaving us. "They will accomplish their mission," Qui-Gon said. "They must. Thousands of live depend on them being successful," Cin replied as his comlink started chirping. "Hello?" "Master, we have found what led to Sivron's sudden aggression. We are on our way to a cemetery that has the crypt that holds Darth Malak's essence." "That would explain these events. You must be very careful, Daniel. Malak was very powerful in life; he'll be even more powerful in death." "We will be, Master. I will contact you when Malak has been defeated." "May the Force be with you." "And with you, Master." ***

"I hope you boys are ready," Kal told us as he set down in front of the cemetery. "We have to be," Obi-Wan responded. "There it is." Kal pointed to a crypt made of volcanic rock. "This place teems with the Dark Side," Daniel said as he and Obi-Wan stood at the entrance. "Here goes nothing." The Jedi Force Pushed the door open and ran inside, cloaks flowing and lightsabers ignited. "Here's a ladder down," Obi-Wan called. He cut his lightsaber off and leapt down the hole, prompting Daniel to follow him.

The bottom was easily 20 meters underground, where it opened into a chamber with a lone coffin in the center. They cautiously stepped towards the coffin, sweeping eyes over the chamber to make sure they hadn't missed anything on their first look. "Ready?" Obi-Wan asked as they got closer to the stone coffin. "Guess we'll find out," Daniel responded. He lifted the top off of the coffin and inside was a girl. Her skin was tanned, her hair light brown. Daniel shut his lightsaber off and clipped it to his belt before shoving the top off; it clattered against the ground. "That was a mistake," Obi-Wan called out behind Dan.

"Why?" His answer came to him as he was Force shoved against the wall, the impact knocking his lightsaber from his belt. "Kenobi! What's going on?" His eyes suddenly went from their normal color to fiery red. "Hello, Malak." "Hello, foolish Jedi. Did you really think my tomb would be unprotected?" he asked in Obi-Wan's voice. "No, we did not. We were aware that you were ready for us."

"I have waited four thousand years for this moment. Now my time has come. Tell me, Jedi- where is my army?" "The Sith Empire is no more, Malak. The last Sith Lord died a thousand years ago." "Curse Revan! He was a fool not to join me when he had the chance to." "I believe you are the fool, Malak. You would have become a powerful Jedi Master." "The Jedi are corrupted, no doubt even more now than they were when I destroyed their Enclave on Dantooine."

"What you perceive as being corrupt, I perceive as wisdom." "Your views on the matter are of no consequence to me, young one. Revan remains a fool." "Who's more foolish: The fool or the fool that follows him?" "You would make a fine apprentice, Padawan. Join me and you shall have everything you could ever desire!" "I'll never join you, Malak. The Sith are cowards, and those not adept enough to be Jedi." "So be it. Farewell, Jedi!" he slammed Daniel against the wall again, and took his leave. ***

"It's been three hours since they went to apprehend and vanquish Malak. What could be taking them so long?" Qui-Gon called, before being summoned to Tol's throne room. "I am leaving, Master Jedi. My militia and I are going to the battlefields where our fates will be decided." "We will be joining you," Cin responded. ***

"Hey….." Daniel's head swam in blackness as he distantly registered someone talking. "Are you okay?" someone asked. He shook his head to focus clearly on her voice and opened his eyes, to find the girl from the coffin kneeling beside him. "How long have I been out?" Daniel asked, sitting up.

"I'm not sure. I just woke up a few minutes ago. Who are you? What is this place?" she asked. "I'm Dan Updike. I'm a Jedi. We're in the crypt of Darth Malak." "A Jedi? Yeah, right. Jedi don't exist," she replied, as Daniel looked over to his lightsaber and called it to his hand. "I always thought the Jedi were a fairy tale, told to kids at bedtime to get them to go to sleep. My name is Crystal."

"Nice to meet you. Do you remember what happened to you last before you woke up in here?" "The last thing I remember was working in Master Sivron's palace." "What do you do there?" "I'm a slave, sir." "Sir? We're the same age! And we're gonna do something about you being a slave by the time I leave Ryloth," "How are you going to accomplish that?" "Still working on that. Kal? Are you here?" Daniel asked. They found him thirty feet from his ship. After they woke him up and got airborne in his ship, Daniel put a call in to Master Drallig. ***

"We have a problem." "What is it?" Qui-Gon asked. "Malak is using Obi-Wan as a host. How far are we from the battlefield?" Cin asked Tol. "We are 4 hours from the battlefield, and 10 hours away from war." "Daniel? Meet us at these coordinates…" ***

"Report, Lord Maul." "I am too late, my Master. I have arrived at Malak's crypt, but it is completely empty. There are no remains inside." "Then he learned to transfer his essence upon the destruction of the Star Forge. Interesting. Have you found any traces of other people having been there recently?" "I've discovered some footprints, my Master. But nothing of real consequence. Should I make my way to the fields where the war will begin?" "Yes, my Apprentice. Report back to me once you have seen it begin." "Yes, my Master." ***

"How long will it take to arrive at the coordinates, Kal?" Daniel asked. "An hour and a half at the most. I hope you're ready for war." "There won't be any bloodshed. If one drop of blood falls, I have failed as a Jedi. I'm going to meditate. Why don't you teach Crystal to pilot this streamlined beauty? She'll be piloting soon enough." "Will do." ***

"You will always be welcome here, Master Jedi. Until our next meeting," Bail Organa spoke, as Master Plo and Ryan bowed and boarded their shuttle. "That went very well, young one. You will become a great Jedi. Are you ready to return home?" Master Koon asked his apprentice. "Yes, Master. I certainly am." ***

"I'm sorry we did not succeed, Master." "Matter it does not, Brandy. Of little value Geonosis is. Return home, we will." ***

"ARE YOU READY FOR A WAR?" Sol Sivron boomed, as his militia began setting up defensive barriers. As his militia cheered, Crystal and Dan continued taking pictures of their perimeter. "This won't be good. Let's get back to our lines," Dan called before they boarded Kal's ship. It wasn't long before the Jedi and his allies returned to Tol Rooshan's headquarters, where his militia was also building defensive barriers.

"What can we do to help?" he asked the lead officer. "Our left flank will be our weak spot. The dozers are working to move more dirt to fill it in better but we could use some assistance. Also, our sniper teams need to be up on the cliffs above us and we have no way to get them up there. But most importantly, we have no idea what their numbers are. We need someone to go and do some recon of their front." "We have recon. My friend, Crystal, got it." "Aren't you a slave? We don't allow your kind here," one Twi'Lek grumbled.

Before Dan could react to the insult, Kal's rifle was level with the Twi'Lek's head. "Consider yourself lucky, young one. Crystal is a slave no longer. And my Mandalorian friend here is much calmer than he was earlier." Dan reached for Crystal's hand as she held the memory pack from the binoculars in it before handing it to the lead officer. "Get back to work, grunt. She deserves as much respect as you do." "Yes, sir." "Are your snipers ready for deployment now?" Kal asked. The lead officer turned to a human at his side, who fielded the question. "Yes, sir. My teams are ready for deployment."

"Bring them with me aboard the Fang. We'll transport you up there," Kal responded. "I'll help the dozers move dirt," Dan announced, as he and Crystal walked outside. "How are we going to move all of this dirt?" she asked him. At that question he closed his eyes and pushed his hands together. And the soldiers present watched in awe as the dirt moved in to fill the left flank, as the dozers all shut off and cooled down with their jobs now complete. ***

"Is everyone present?" Tol Rooshan asked his most trusted advisor, who nodded. "I want to thank you all for joining me. Let me begin by saying that I wish none of this ever happened. Sol was a great friend of mine, as you all know. I'm not entirely sure why he looks upon us now as enemies, but we will have a resolution by the end of the day." The troops cheered at that, while Master Jinn, Master Drallig, and Daniel stood to his right.

"I ask that you all take some rest before we battle old friends in six hours. Dismissed." Most of Tol's militia left the main building, leaving the Jedi, their allies, and Tol Rooshan. "Has there been any sign of your apprentice?" Tol asked Qui-Gon. "None. Malak is blocking Obi-Wan's essence in The Force. We have no idea where he is."

"He'll be with Sivron's forces," Daniel said. "What is your reasoning to this conclusion, young Jedi?" Tol asked, as Daniel looked to Crystal. "On the day was declared Sol discovered Malak's crypt but could not open it. He acted very strangely once he returned from the cemetery," Crystal clarified.

"It took someone who was Force-Sensitive to open the crypt and let him out. But Malak influenced him to incite a war, knowing full well we would come to negotiate," Daniel finished. "But why wait four thousand years? He could have escaped long before now," Kal said. "Kal is right. People are constantly buried there," Tol replied.

"For that question, I have no answer. I don't know why he waited 4 millenniums to return. But we've got 6 hours before Malak arrives and I could use some rest." "We all need rest. Let's go over the plan once more in five hours before we take up our positions," Master Drallig replied. ***

"It is time. Sivron? Sound the attack." "Yes, Lord Malak. All troops… march!" The speeders were started as Lord Malak led our troops toward the enemy. ***

"HQ, this is Zeta Two. We've got eyes on the enemy. There are at least 30 four-man speeders, along with at least twice as many two-man speeder bikes." "We copy, Zeta Two. Do not engage." "What was that, HQ?" "DO NOT ENGAGE, Zeta Two. The Jedi are going to try something to end the war without bloodshed. Stay frosty in case it fails." "Understood, HQ. Zeta Two out." ***

"Are you ready?" Qui-Gon asked Daniel. "I am ready. Let's go." The three Jedi got into the landspeeder and took off, having been seen off by Crystal and Kal. The landscape around them became a blur, as Master Drallig sped up. "I see Obi-Wan! He's in the lead speeder!" Qui-Gon yelled as Daniel took off his robes.

When the speeders were within 100 meters of each other, Daniel leapt into Malak's speeder with his lightsaber whirling wildly as he and Malak dueled. With a gripping motion, Daniel ripped the plug wires from the speeder engine, sending both of them tumbling from the speeder as it abruptly stopped. ***

"Here they come! Use EMP grenades!" Qui-Gon shouted to the sniper teams through the commlink. "Daniel is holding his own against Malak, but not for long. We have to join him!" Qui-Gon shouted to Cin. "We're on our way!" In the waning darkness before morning it was easy to pick out the green lightsaber crashing against Obi-Wan's blue blade. ***

"The battle has begun, Master. I cannot get close to Malak; he is being engaged by three Jedi." "Very well, Lord Maul. You have done well; there is nothing more you can do on Ryloth. There is a far more pressing matter to be dealt with on Raxus Prime." "What of Darth Malak, Master?" "Should he survive, he will contact us soon enough." "Yes, my Master. I'm leaving now." ***

"Take a high guard, Daniel!" Qui-Gon yelled, as he readjusted accordingly. "Obi-Wan! Fight it! I know you're still in there! Fight his spirit!" Master Drallig called. The three Jedi continued engaging Malak, until Obi-Wan's movements became more slowed. "Malak's hold! It's weakening!" ***

"CALL OF THE ATTACK! PUT YOUR WEAPONS DOWN! MALAK HAS NO HOLD OVER ME ANYMORE!" Sol Sivron shouted, finally coming to his senses. ***

"My lord! They've thrown their weapons down!" Tol Rooshan's advisor called to him. "We shall do the same. ALL UNITS, STAND DOWN! There will be no blood shed today!" ***

The raw power Malak channeled through Obi-Wan's fingertips that day was startling. With his lightsaber hand he held off all three of his Jedi foes, while he used the other to cast arcs of lightning at them. They held him at bay until a violent sandstorm kicked up, giving both the Jedi and Malak a brief rest from battle.

The three Jedi closed their eyes and reached out with their senses both to find Malak and avoid attacking each other. For the next twenty minutes the four of them dueled as the sandstorm continued to increase in intensity, until it reached a high point and died down. "Obi-Wan! I know you're still in there! You have to fight harder for control!" Daniel shouted, as Qui-Gon went left of Malak and Cin went to the right of him.

Upon Daniel's cue the Jedi Masters killed their lightsabers and focused on pinning Malak in place with the Force as their ally. Once they were successful in keep Malak form moving, Daniel disarmed him and sliced Obi-Wan's lightsaber in half before pocketing the crystals.

"You have no more weapons, Malak! Be at peace! Leave this place!" he shouted. The response from Malak was breaking the hold on his arms and shoving all three of the Jedi in opposite directions. He targeted Qui-Gon as the Jedi were momentarily split up, seizing the Jedi in his mighty grip with The Force and beginning to strangle him. "Obi-Wan… my son…" Qui-Gon gasped as Malak continued choking him.

At that moment, Qui-Gon was dropped and Obi-Wan's head snapped back. A dark stream of matter escaped from his mouth, and vanished into the scarcely remaining night. "Is it over?" Obi-Wan asked, as Daniel helped him to his feet and handed him his focusing crystals. "It's over; Malak won't be bothering anyone for a long time. We'll need to erase all evidence of that crypt's existence and cordon it off to make sure that crypt is never opened again," Daniel responded before the four newly reunited Jedi walked back to the encampment. ***

"Thank you for helping us, Master Jedi. I am glad that no blood has been shed and that I have my friend back," Sol Sivron spoke as he stood with the Jedi, Tol Rooshan, and Daniel's friends and watched the militiamen leaving one speeder at a time.

"It was no problem to settle the dispute. After all, it is what we do best," Obi-Wan replied. "In order to convey our thanks, you may have anything in our possession," Rooshan said proudly. Master Drallig met his apprentice's gaze before nodding. "All slaves for both of your clans will be deactivated and transferred wherever they wish to go, with 10 thousand credits per year of slavery. And neither of your clans will ever be involved in slavery ever again," Daniel spoke softly.

The two clan heads looked to each other, before smiling and nodding to the Jedi apprentice. "We shall start with Miss Breese," Sol said. He took a small scanner from his belt and passed it over her right arm, disarming the transmitter beneath her skin.

"We shall have a convoy of cruisers and shuttles here in two days to escort the former slaves to where they want to go. If you could have them all ready and split up by sectors, it would help us immensely," Master Drallig finished. Daniel pulled Crystal into a hug as he looked at Kal over his shoulder. Kal was smiling sadly and Daniel did not need to read his mind to know what was going on. "You're not coming with us to Coruscant."

"No, son. I'm not. I think I'll do some sightseeing of the galaxy." "If you need anything…" Daniel said, offering his hand in a Mandalorian armgrip. Kal took it and smiled. "I'll know where to find you. You're going to be a fine Jedi, Dan'ika." "What does that mean in Mando'a?" he asked. "Little Daniel. Until our next meeting, my friend." "Stay safe!" Daniel called after him as the loading ramp of his ship began to rise. "I think I could sleep for a week," Crystal called out, as the Jedi and Crystal boarded a speeder to return to their cruiser. ***

"How'd she do?" Daniel asked, as he and Master Drallig bowed before beginning their sparring session. "She passed with flying colors. She'll be guarding the Hall of Holocrons." "Glad to know you like her, Master." "Almost as much as you do?" he chuckled, as his apprentice took a defensive stance. *****


	2. Uprising

*2*

33 BBY

"Things were much different for me this time last year," Crystal observed, as she and Dan sat together in the library. "It's strange to think that it's been a year since Ryloth. Master Drallig and I have been so busy since then. How are things between you and Ryan?" "Great. We have a lot of fun together." "I'm glad you're together. He's a great man." "I am too. Don't you have a sparring session together?" "Actually, it starts in about ten minutes. Ready to head down?" "My shift doesn't start for two hours. Let's go." ***

"You ready?" Ryan asked his friend, who laughed. "Just ignite your lightsaber already." Daniel took a classic Ataru opening stance and waited for Ryan to begin his attack. Ryan charged towards him and pretended to slant left. Daniel knew his friend well enough to know it was a trick so he protected his right side. Ryan swung at his knees, but he blocked with ease. Next he slashed at Daniel's shoulder, who in turn somersaulted backwards to avoid the strike. Ryan knew his friend would now be on the offensive, so he took a defensive Soresu stance.

Daniel began his sequence of attacks, which overwhelmed Ryan's defenses quicker than he expected. He batted away any attack his friend could muster before disarming him with a kick that hit the handle of his lightsaber. Ryan smirked to his friend before blasting him away with a shoving motion of his hand.

Before Daniel could get a firm grip on Ryan's lightsaber which he had just called to his hand, Ryan took it back with a pulling motion. Daniel leapt over to him, eager to press the attack as long as he could. Ryan quickly adopted the mannerisms and sequences of Djem So, the Fifth Form and pressed Daniel back into defense. He quickly tired of the prolonged attacks he made against his friend which allowed Daniel to steal his lightsaber away from him again and shoved him against the wall with The Force.

The younglings watched in amazement as he tossed Ryan's lightsaber back to him to continue the duel. Ryan once again took a Soresu defensive stance before laughing. "Try and take it again." Daniel sensed that Master Dooku was watching the duel intently and laughed back at his friend before calling Dooku's curved lightsaber to his hand and igniting it. "By your leave, Master Dooku." He mimicked the intricate style of Makashi with his left hand, and continued using Ataru with the other.

It quickly became very difficult for him to remember the correct moves to use with each other, as his right hand battered Ryan's defenses carefully. Ryan continued to redirect his friend's strikes with his right hand which led Daniel to use his left hand more.

It wasn't very long before everyone in the room was watching. Towards the end of the duel, Ryan disarmed his opponent of Master Dooku's lightsaber, though it worked to Daniel's advantage in the long run. As Ryan tossed Dooku's lightsaber back to him, Daniel again kicked Ryan's lightsaber from his hand and caught it. With both blades pressed close enough to his friend that Ryan could feel the heat, he yielded.

Daniel helped his friend to his feet and handed him his lightsaber before bowing to each other one final time. "That was some duel, younglings. Don't ever take my lightsaber again," Dooku sneered before leaving, making both Daniel and Ryan chuckle. Master Windu approached them next, smiling proudly.

"That was the best duel I have seen in nearly a decade. Well done to you both." Both of them bowed to Master Windu, before Ryan went over to talk to Crystal. "You seem to have perfect control of your temper, Daniel. You didn't get angry once during the entire duel. "There were moments when I was frustrated that I couldn't beat Ryan's defenses, Master." "I'm creating a new lightsaber form with Master Bulq. Would you be interested in helping us refine it?" "Yes, Master. When do we begin?"

"First thing tomorrow morning. Be warned, Daniel- this new form will take you closer to the Dark Side than you have ever been. It will be a challenged to refrain from using it." "You know I like a challenge, Master. I will not allow the Dark Side into my heart. To do that would be to become no better than Malak is." "Then I will see you at first light." Daniel bowed to Master Windu, before joining Ryan and Crystal.

"That was incredible! How did you do that without causing injury?" she asked. "The four of us have sparred for almost eight years together. It's easier to predict what will happen next," Ryan said proudly, as she checked her chrono. "My shift is starting soon. I've got to get ready." With that she hugged Ryan before leaving. "Wipe your lip. You're drooling everywhere," Dan laughed to his friend before handing him his robes. "Brandy should be back from Utapau sometime later tonight. Up for a trip to Didi's Diner?" "Let's do it." ***

"Welcome, Lord Sidious." "Dispense with the pleasantries, Vilmarh Grahrk. Are the Yinchorri ready to rise up against the Republic?" "They are, Lord. Where shall I send them first?" "Send them to raid the Golden Nyss Shipyards. Smuggle them there and unleash them. Once you have succeeded, head to Mayvitch Seven. Contact me once you have taken the settlement." "Yes, Lord Sidious. I shall." ***

The Golden Nyss Shipyards were taken a week later, followed closely by Mayvitch Seven. ***

"THIS IS MAYVITCH SEVEN! WE NEED HELP! IF YOU RECEIVE THIS TRANSMISS… TACT THE SENATE- WARN THEM ABOUT THE YINCHOREEEEEEE!" "Master Windu, what is your take on this matter?" Supreme Chancellor Valorum asked as they sat together in his private quarters. "I have a team picked out to deal with the uprising. I will send them to the Yinchorri system immediately." "Thank you, Mace. This threat must be dealt with." ***

"Good luck, Ebor. I will see you when you return my friend," Daniel called to Jedi Apprentice Ebor Taulk, as he and his mater Naeshahn boarded their Consular-class cruiser. "I'll see you soon, my friend," Ebor replied before vanishing up the ramp. It was the final time he would see Coruscant alive. ***

"You have excelled at everything I have shown you so far. Are you ready to see the next attack sequence?" Master Windu asked as the three Jedi stretched together before beginning the sparring session. "Yes, Master. You know I am eager to learn this new form. I like Ataru, but I will eventually grow older.

Masters Yoda and Jinn are the only exceptions to the rule." "There were others in the past that could rival Qui-Gon at that age. This next attack sequence will be very difficult for you to master, Daniel. It combines the elegance of Makashi, the brutality of Shien, and the defensiveness of Soresu. Get your lightsaber ready," Master Bulq said before he and Master Windu bowed to each other.

Mace first came at his opponent with a lunge forward, then a slash diagonally, closed with a fan-like motion obviously intended to deflect blaster fire. "Try it," Master Windu told the young apprentice. Daniel quickly perfected the lunge and the slash, but continued having trouble with the fan motion. "Mace does it two handed, but try it the way I do it- rotate your wrist as fast as you possibly can and you can get the same effect over time," Master Bulq suggested, as Daniel did it like that. It worked just like the way master Windu did it but was a little slower as he had just learned to do it. Daniel got ready to spar with Master Windu, as Mace's commlink chirped wildly. "Supreme Chancellor? What is it?" ***

Daniel covered the bodies of Ebor Taulk and his Master as Masters Windu, Drallig, Jinn, and Yoda talked with Chancellor Valorum. "We'll need a strike team to go to the Yinchorri system. Who will go with me?" Mace asked. "Obi-Wan and I are free." "As are Daniel and I," Master Drallig said quietly. "Take Master Plo with you, you should. And any other Masters who volunteer, go they will," Master Yoda finished.

"They will be given the highest honors, I can assure you," Chancellor Valorum said bleakly, as Daniel looked over to his friend's mutilated body. "Daniel," Qui-Gon called. "Yes, Master?" "Come and join us over here," he replied. But it was no use- he would remember the image of his friend's corpse until the day he died. ***

The fifteen Jedi stood together, with Master Windu at the center. "Thank you all for volunteering for this mission. As you know, I am loathe to enter situations where a show of force is our only option. On the other hand, we who are sworn to protect the Republic cannot ignore the threat posed to it by the actions of the Yinchorri; anymore than we can ignore what they did to Master Naeshahn and Ebor Taulk.

But I warn you all now- put away any feelings of righteousness in the actions that lie ahead of us. With that in mind, here is the plan. Masters Drallig, Tiin, Jinn, and I will head to Yinchorr directly. Masters Gallia, Koth, and Tsui will go to Yitheeth. Masters Plo, Micah, and Lilit will head to Yibikkoror. All three of our teams will be searching for the Yinchorri home base and command center. Is everyone ready to leave now?" When everyone agreed, the Jedi boarded their assigned cruisers and readied for takeoff. ***

The main team wasn't out of Hyperspace for ten minutes before the Yinchorri attacked them. "Boost engine power, Daniel," Master Tiin said calmly, as Daniel did that. He took reserve power from the landing gear and applied it to the shields also, making them completely full with some power in reserve. They continued to mercilessly batter the cruiser's shields until they failed entirely.

"Program the navicomputer for these coordinates," Master Tiin said, still as calm as ever. "Master?" Daniel asked, confused. "We're going to perform a small jump to get us closer to the planet. Program the navicomputer."

"Yes, Master." When the navicomputer was finished with its calculations, Master Tiin calmly asked if everyone was strapped in. When everyone was he shut his eyes and reached for the hyperspace drive lever and shoved it forward, before pulling it back a second later.

The cruiser was not in the atmosphere of Yinchorr, as the Jedi Apprentices saw it for the first time in real life. "Reroute power to the landing gear." "Already done, Master. Though Life Support is now at sixty percent operating power." "Prepare for landing." Two minutes later, the main team was on the surface of the planet, ready to disembark to find the Yinchorri home base. ***

"Shields are about to be completely gone. I'm open to suggestions," Master Micah Giiett told his team, as the Yinchorri fighters continued to batter their cruiser. "Let's launch the escape pods. Maybe they will believe that we abandoned," Padawan K'Kruhk suggested.

"It is worth a try," Master Plo said thoughtfully, as Ryan launched the escape pods without further notice. The team was relieved to see the Yinchorri fighters break off and follow the escape pods, but wasn't out of the woods yet. "Everyone strap in. This will be a rough landing," Micah announced, as they continued towards Yibikkoror. ***

"The Yinchorri invaded the temple as we were landing," Master Windu spoke softly, after finishing communications with Master Yoda. "Is everyone okay?" Daniel asked. Mace shook his head sadly. "Jude Rozess and Tieren Nie-Tan died during the attack. Are we all ready to end this travesty?" Mace asked, as his team agreed. "We must proceed with great caution, however. The Yinchorri are aggressive, immune to mind tricks, and utilize Cortosis shields."

"The Force will guide us. We must trust in it," Qui-Gon responded as the team began offloading equipment into a small nook of a mountain to be used as a temporary base. With that, Qui-Gon and his apprentice borrowed the speeder to scout the nearby areas, while the rest of the team set up emergency shelters. They returned twenty minutes later, out of breath. "What is it?" Master Drallig asked.

"The Yinchorri… they're gathering their army. We barely escaped before they found us," Obi-Wan replied. Less then a minute later, the Jedi were surprised to see their cruiser explode. "It would seem they sense our presence here," Qui-Gon said. "What else could go wrong?" Dan asked aloud, not prepared for the events of the next few days. ***

"At least we know their command center isn't here on Yitheeth," Master Adi Gallia remarked as her team secured Olmar Grahrk in the cargo hold. "Set a course for Yibikkoror. We'll reinforce Master Plo," Eeth Koth said, as Theen Fida did so. ***

"We'll need a new transport," Master Plo announced, as the Jedi team heard loud hissing nearby. "Perfect timing. The Yinchorri are here!" Ryan yelled, leading the Jedi to ignite their lightsabers. "This floating platform is held up by balloons. We should try to reach them," Master Micah said quickly as the Yinchorri continued their approach from all sides. "I'll cover the retreat," Lilit said quickly while the rest of the team began climbing up the tethers to the balloon.

Ryan looked down about halfway up and saw Master Twoseas dueling fiercely with the Yinchorri, before blasting them off of the platform with the Force and beginning to climb. The wind began to pick up as the Jedi got to the top of the tether and held on.

"More Yinchorri!" Ryan shouted, as the lizards approached them in midair wearing flutterpacks. The Jedi all stood together on the platform beneath the balloon, lightsaber ignited and ready for combat. The Yinchorri mindlessly engaged the enemy but were held off until the arrival of a certain Red and White consular cruiser descended beneath the Jedi.

"We're safe!" K'Kruhk called happily as the team continued to turn the Yinchorri aside. "Not yet. The cruiser is too large to land on the platform," Master Plo observed. "I'll cover the retreat this time," Ryan offered before the Jedi began climbing up to the balloon itself. When the team was up high enough, Ryan cut the tether and grabbed on as the balloon began rising.

The Jedi cruiser matched their height meter for meter until the team could leap onto the open boarding ramp. Ryan was the final person onboard, as they strapped in and shut the ramp. "Is everybody all right?" Master Koth asked the third Jedi team.

"We are all uninjured. How was your journey?" Master Plo asked in response. "We have a prisoner who knows the aggressors personally involved in starting this uprising in the cargo hold. We will interrogate him together once we have met up with Master Windu's team," Master Gallia rationed, as she set a course for Yinchorr. ***

The Yinchorri warriors surrounded the main Jedi team quickly, as they reluctantly ignited their lightsabers. "Form a wedge!" Master Drallig called aloud, as Master Windu took the lead. Daniel dealt with two Yinchorri warriors as they attacked in a frenzy, who were not equipped with Cortosis shields or weaponry except crude spears.

The team defended on another as long as they could, until the tanks and Yinchorri with flutterpacks arrived. "Master Gallia and the others will arrive in minutes. Everyone hold on!" Mace called out. Minutes later, the cruiser DID arrive but was forced to land on the other side of a forest large enough that the cruiser could not be seen. ***

"The time has come. Master Gallia, Tsui Choi, and Theen Fida will guard our prisoner and the cruiser. Everyone else, get ready," Plo Koon rumbled. Ryan pulled his robes on before departing with the team through the forest separating the teams.

Once they got through the woods, they saw hundreds of Yinchorri swarming their fellow Jedi. "What should we do? One on One?" Lilit asked. "We'll do what the others are doing. Form a wedge," Master Micah said. Ryan received the honor of leading the wedge as they collided with the Yinchorri. ***

"Get to the others as quickly as possible!" Master Windu called out as his team fought harder to meet up with Master Plo's strike team. After ten standard minutes, the two teams finally met up and turned to face the Yinchorri together. Daniel stood shoulder to shoulder with Ryan as the Yinchorri renewed their attack.

It wasn't long before the first injury of the day was struck- Master Twoseas was mortally wounded while defending her padawan K'Kruhk. "We need to get her to the cruiser," Qui-Gon called calmly as his team provided cover for those taking Master Twoseas to the cruiser. As the Yinchorri again attacked, the Jedi all shoved forwards with their hands, sending the warriors reeling backwards.

They realized as they began to retreat that Master Micah was also wounded badly. "Put me against that Yinchorri tank," he instructed Master Plo and Daniel weakly. Daniel tried desperately to patch the wound in his back but could not. He and Master Plo set him gingerly against the tank as Micah and Plo talked one last time.

"Daniel? Come with me," Master Drallig instructed, as his padawan did so. They made their way back to the cruiser with Master Plo behind. As he boarded the cruiser, Daniel found the body of Theen Fida lying peacefully in the cargo hold with a Devaronian shackled nearby.

"So you're the brains behind this operation?" Daniel asked evenly, which made him nod proudly. Daniel responded less calmly to that by hauling the alien to his feet by his throat. "Who hired you start this uprising?" "No one hired me. I decided the time was right to rise up." This sentence led to Daniel removing his hand from the Devaronian's throat. "You're forgetting something- you're not Yinchorri. And from the answer you just gave me, it is clear that you are not the brains of this operation. So I ask you again- who hired you?"

"I know nothing," the Devaronian said before Daniel sat him back down. "We'll see about that soon enough." Daniel made his way to the medstation where he saw K'Kruhk trying in vain to stop Lilit's bleeding. "You must show no anger at this. No revenge. Do you understand, my Padawan?" "Yes, Master. I won't show or use anger. I understand." "Good… good….." And with those words, Master Twoseas disappeared from The Force as she did from life. K'Kruhk held his Master's hand for nearly three hours from her death to his reappearance in the cockpit where the three strike teams were assembled.

"Our final target is on the planet of Uhanayih. Master Yaddle consulted a holocron and discovered its' existence. The Yinchorri high command is situated there, and Chancellor Valorum has convinced the Senate to send 4 Judicial Force attack groups to help with any resistance we will encounter. I suggest you all get some rest- we arrive at Uhanayih in four hours," Master Windu finished. The response from most of the strike team members was immediate silence as their tired bodies finally fell asleep, unable to hold their eyes open any longer. Most of the strike team, including Daniel, woke up four hours later to the sounds of the alarms of the ship going off.

"Welcome to Airline Jedi. Please place your seats and trays in an upright position. Thank you for flying Jedi Air," Ryan laughed as the cruiser was rocked by turbolaser fire. "Boost shields," Master Tiin calmly said to Obi-Wan. "Shields to 90 percent, landing gear to 50." "There are at least six wings of fighters out there," Qui-Gon observed as the ship continued towards Uhanayih.

"Be happy we have made it this far, Master Tiin," Mace said quietly. "Hmm… I guess I am happy… now that the Navy has arrived to help us." "Well, they're in trouble now," Daniel laughed. "Qui-Gon, get in touch with the commander of these forces. We need an escort to the planet," Master Windu said suddenly.

Twenty minutes later, much of the Yinchorri fleet had been mopped up and the cruiser was in Uhanayih's atmosphere. "I'm reading a large tunnel into the ground from one of the sensors," Master Tiin remarked, as Daniel helped Obi-Wan revert power form the shields back to the landing gear.

"It is the Yinchorri central command. Head inside," Master Gallia called out. Master Tiin brought the cruiser inside as Daniel toggled the running lights on. "The blast doors are closing!" Obi-Wan called out as Daniel reached over him and took all power from the landing gear to the shields. Master Tiin responded by shoving the throttle forward past the limiters, leading the cruiser to rocket through the first 4 blast doors before they closed.

The next five however were a problem- every closed blast door that the cruiser crashed through the shields were drained by fifteen percent which left twenty five percent in the shields, as the strike team saw the Central Command Hub. "Everyone strap in. Daniel, boost the shields with power from life support and the engines. We need 100 percent in these shields," Master Tiin said, as calm as ever. Daniel took the life support to sixty percent, and the engines to sixty five percent as Master Tiin rocketed in towards the Command Hub.

The entire strike team double checked their safety harnesses before the cruiser broke through the command hub and basically decimated the structure. The force of the impact broke Daniel's harness, making him slam his head off of the control boards. As he tried to focus his vision, he saw the remaining members of the three strike teams leaving the ship through the now broken cockpit hatch.

Of the millions of species and languages across the galaxy, the Yinchorri have one thing in common with them at least- they surrender with their hands as high as they can go. Daniel wiped the blood away from his face and attempted to join Master Drallig by walking in a straight line, which failed miserably.

He made it out in time to see Master Windu accept the Yinchorri's unconditional surrender. "I have been authorized to play this for you, the leaders of the Yinchorri Uprising," Master Tiin announced before loading a data disk into a holoplayer. Chancellor Valorum's image appeared in front of the Yinchorri next.

"The Senate and I have come to a unanimous agreement. Effective immediately, The Yinchorri and their planets will be demilitarized and quarantined. No Yinchorri vessel will be allowed to leave the system for a period of six months. You will also be blockaded to prevent the influx of ships." Daniel took a moment to once again wipe the blood from his forehead before using The Force to staunch the bloodflow and speed up the clotting factor. ***

The return home to Coruscant was a somber one for the Strike Team. With the cruiser nearly demolished, Master Tiin, Obi-Wan and Daniel managed to make the vital systems operate once again. With one of the four Judicial Force attack groups helping them arrive safely, all power from the shields was rerouted to the life support and landing gear. It took Masters Windu, Drallig, and Jinn to assist the life support with keeping the vacuum of space out by holding the hull plates together where they were beginning to pull apart.

Once the cruiser set down at the Temple the Jedi took their dead to the temple's cremation chamber, deep beneath the ground level of the Temple. A solemn ceremony was held to honor the seven Jedi who fell during the Yinchorri Uprising. There was, however, no time to mourn.

Ki-Adi-Mundi was chosen to take Micah's seat on the Jedi Council and Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon were sent off on a mission to investigate attacks on the Trade Federation by the Nebula Front. "Here we are again," Master Drallig chuckled, as he and Daniel bowed to each before the beginning of their sparring session. *****


	3. Out of the Frying Pan

*3*

31 BBY

The galaxy has severely changed since Qui-Gon Jinn's mission to deal with the Nebula Front. During a trade summit on Eriadu between Chancellor Valorum and the Trade Federation, malfunctioning security droids gunned down six of the seven Federation leaders.

After the Senate gave them the right to arm themselves following repeated attacks by the Nebula Front, they invaded Naboo under the guise of a 'blockade'.When Chancellor Valorum did nothing to impede the outright invasion, Queen Amidala moved for a Vote of No Confidence and managed to have Valorum removed from office.

Senator Palpatine from Naboo was chosen at the end of the election over Bail Antilles of Alderaan and Ainlee Teem of Malastare and became our current Supreme Chancellor. The Blockade of Naboo could not have ended well, and it didn't- Qui-Gon was slain by a Sith Lord while helping with Naboo's liberation, who was slain by Obi-Wan. After being promoted to Jedi Knight, Qui-Gon immediately took Anakin Skywalker, a young boy who Qui-Gon adamantly believed is the Chosen one, as his Padawan Learner.

And like I believed Master Drallig has finally become the Jedi Order's Battlemaster, replacing the recently deceased Anoon Bondara. It has been a standard year since Qui-Gon's death and I still see him roaming the temple halls sometimes. "Daniel?" Master Drallig asked. I shook my head free of the thoughts as we approached the Council Chambers. "Sorry, Master." "Qui-Gon?" he asked softly, making me nod. "He was a great friend. I also miss him, but we have more important matters to attend to here." "What are we doing here, Master? Your message was very vague."

"The Council has come to a decision regarding whether you are ready to become a Jedi Knight. We are here to listen to their decision." "You think I'm ready for the Trials?" "You've excelled at every challenge I have thrown at you, with the Yinchorri Uprising a shining example of your readiness for the Trials." "Thank you, Master. I'm… I'm overwhelmed." "You shouldn't be. You've accomplished more in your sixteen years than most Jedi I know did by your age," he responded, leading us into the Council Chambers. ***

"Today, we are here to discuss whether or not Daniel is ready to take the Trails. Master Drallig, if you would start us off…" "Thank you, Master Windu. My fellow Masters, greetings. Daniel has been my apprentice since he was six years old. In ten short years, he has done everything asked of him, and done it well.

He has studied all seven lightsaber forms and is competent in five of them to the fact that he defeats me on a regular basis using them. With more training, he shall soon master Niman and Master Windu himself has told me he is close to mastering Vaapad. His use of The Force is on par with all of us present. In the two years since the Yinchorri Uprising, he has been on sixteen diplomacy missions and accomplished them all.

His ego has become much more reserved than he once was, though he was never cocky. I believe he is ready for the Trials." "Value your insight we do, Master Drallig. Anything to add, do you have Daniel?" Master Yoda asked me.

"I will not fail you if you give me this chance, Master Yoda. I am ready for the Trials," I said with the utmost respect for the Council. "We will see. Those in favor of Daniel taking the Trials?" Master Windu asked. Seven of the twelve Council Members, including Master Windu and Master Yoda, did not raise their hands. My head went down almost immediately in disappointment. "Grave concerns, we have," Master Yoda began. "Such as?" Master Drallig asked.

"His use of The Force is dangerous to others. No Jedi has ever used Force Lightning the way he does." "Master Windu, with all due respect, Force Lightning has rarely been used by Jedi as pure as Daniel is. The fact that he can conjure it makes you wary of what should happen if he should fall to the Dark Side. He will harm no one."

"He is prone to violent outbursts and his ego increases, contrary to what you say, Master Drallig." "This is a joke, right?" I asked. "This is no joke, Daniel. We were prepared to expel you from the Order a number of times recently." I looked over to Master Drallig, who was as surprised as me. "Don't do it," Master Drallig told me. I smiled sadly at him. "I have no choice, Master. I hereby resign from the Jedi Order." ***

"I just heard. Where will you go?" Obi-Wan asked. "Cin told me once that I'm from Taris. I'll go there to find my family, I suppose." "I've got something for you," he said quietly, handing me a carved wooden box. Inside was the lightsaber of Obi-Wan's Master and my good friend, Qui-Gon Jinn.

A tear escaped my eye as I embraced Obi-Wan. "Thank you, old friend." "Since you destroyed my first and Maul destroyed my second I have finally made a new one," he laughed, showing me his new lightsaber. "Not bad at all." "I know they've stripped you of yours, so use Qui-Gon's. Take care, Daniel."

I nodded that I would as he left. I put the box in my bag and headed out the door, running into old faces that wished me well as I left the Temple. With one last look at my home since infancy, I called for a transport to the nearby spaceport.***

"Expecting that reaction, I was not," Master Yoda said, stowing away the lightsaber of former Jedi Daniel Updike. "Neither was I. Perhaps in time, he will return. His potential power is startling." "Too much time with Qui-Gon, he spent," Master Yoda remarked. "I am ready to take a new padawan now," Master Drallig said. "Is there anyone you have in mind?" "A youngling named Serra Keto." "Very well. She is your new Padawan." ***

"Master Drallig has just contacted me. Dan has resigned from the Order," Ryan told Brandy and Crystal. "No way. Why?" Brandy asked. "His request to take the Trials was denied and the Masters revealed they were contemplating expelling him for his use of Force Lightning."

"Where do you think he'll go?" Crystal asked. "To Taris to locate his family, I suppose," Ryan responded. "Should we go after him?" Brandy asked. "No. We all know that from time to time Dan has to get away. He'll contact us when he's ready to." ***

"Excuse me. Do you happen to know where I might find Bill Updike?" I asked before taking three steps off of the freighter. "Billy Updike? He's got a starfighter repair shop in the Upper Levels," a Gotal male responded. "Thank you," I replied, hastily heading to a turbolift to the Upper Levels. As soon as I left the lift, I could tell which shop was my dad's; amidst all of the shops with neon lighting lit up almost nonstop, the largest shop had a hand painted sign- Updike's Ship Repair.

I took a deep breath, adjusted my breath, and went inside. Three mechanics swarmed a starfighter as it set down on the floor, while my eyes came across a gorgeous girl with blonde hair sitting at the front desk. "Name?" she asked. "Daniel." "What can I do for you?"

"I can think of a few things off of the top of my head, but I'd like to speaker with the owner if it's possible." She blushed visibly at my remark and pointed to a turbolift. "Third floor, at the end of the hall." "Thank you." ***

"There's a rumor that one of our enemies has left the Jedi Order," Darth Sidious told his newest apprentice, Darth Tyranus. "Who, my lord?" "Daniel Updike." "He would make a powerful ally if he could be turned." "Indeed he would. But he won't join us, will he?" "No, my Lord, he will not. He is too loyal to my former Padawan to join the faction that brought about his death." "A pity. Send our new bounty hunter to kill him. He is somewhere on Taris." "Yes, Lord Sidious. It shall be done." ***

I knocked on the door that had my father's name on it twice. "Come in," he called. I opened the door and walked in after another deep breath. A man who looked like an older version of me sat at a desk before me, gazing down at paperwork. "Can I help you?" he asked, looking up. "You might say that," I replied. "What can I do to help the Jedi?" he asked genuinely. "I'm home, Dad."

"Danny?" "Yes, sir." He leapt out of his chair, cleared his desk, and pulled me into a hug which I eagerly returned. "You look great, son. You've grown so much," dad said as we sat down. "I've left the Order, Dad. I'm here to stay." "Why did you leave, son?" "It all started to unravel about three years ago…" ***

"I have a contract for you, Jango," Darth Tyranus called into the comm. "I have already arrived on Taris. I accept." ***

"Wait. You know Kal Skirata?" Dad interrupted. "Yeah. How do you know him?" I asked. "He and I are in business together. He sends all of his mercenary and smuggler friends to me to get repairs done." "I thought I saw Kal's freighter downstairs. Next to that gorgeous secretary of yours," I said, with a devious grin.

"Joelle? She's the daughter of a Mandalorian named Cassus Teth. She's a year younger than you are," Dad replied slyly. "Where's Jesse, Dad?" I asked, remembering my older brother.

"He's on a buying trip for me to Kuat. He'll be back in two weeks. Are you hungry, son?" "You know me too well, Dad. Let's get something to eat." We took the life back down to the ground floor, where Dad introduced me to Joelle.

"Jo… This is my son, Daniel. He's come to stay with us for a while." Joelle reached for my hand, making me take her and kiss it. I just let go of her hand when the front entrance exploded open.

"What the hell is that?" Dad asked. A man in silver and blue Mandalorian armor walked in, leveling his blasters on me. "Updike. You're coming with me." I pulled Qui-Gon's lightsaber to my hand and barely ignited it in time to bat away the incoming fire.

The bounty hunter rolled on his shoulder to avoid the bolts and fired again, as I Force Pushed him away. In the chaos that followed I sensed Dad and Jo take cover with the other mechanics as the Mandalorian stood back up.

I leapt up into the air to close the gap between us, making him roll away to avoid being sliced in half. He unsheathed a Cortosis blade from his back, striking at my lightsaber as hard as he could and shut it off temporarily. I kicked the sword from his hand and shoved him away to give my lightsaber time to charge enough power to turn back on.

That plan failed horribly as the man launched a rocket at me from his jetpack. I concentrated as hard as I could before bringing my hands up. I shoved them above my head, making the rocket follow through the skylight and exploding far away from anyone. I pulled my lightsaber to my hand again and was pleasantly surprised when it ignited. I got ready to charge the Mandalorian when Kal appeared behind him. "Jango. What do you want with Dan'ika?"

"Kal. My employer wants him captured, at the price of two million credits." "Two million credits? For what?" I asked. "It's not my job to know what my marks do what they do; my job is kill or capture them," Jango replied. "I suggest you leave while you can, Jango. My boys will be here any minute," Kal said loudly. You could hear the sounds of boots marching our way as Kal finished his warning.

"Another time, Jedi." "I'll be waiting," I replied. Jango made his exit as Dad, Jo, and the mechanics came out from their hiding spots. Kal limped over to shake my hand as Dad and Joelle joined us. "What's with the limp? I asked aloud. "My commanding officer put a Verpine Shatter Gun round through my ankle for not following orders. Learned to take orders fairly quickly after that," Kal told me as I put my lightsaber back on my belt.

"How'd you know he was my son?" Dad asked. "I didn't. There's an average of 1 million Daniel Updike's in the galaxy. The resemblance between you is startling, though. I should have known as soon as I saw him." Kal and Dad continued talking as Jo pulled me away from them. "So now you want to talk to me, now that I'm the son of the boss," I laughed. "Who's to say I didn't want to talk to you before?"

"Fair enough. When do you-" "I get off at nine," Jo interrupted. "Good. I'll take you to dinner." "I'll see you then," Jo smiled. "I'm here to borrow a few of your mechanics. We're taking supplies to Kashyyyk and need some extra hands if you can spare them." "I can spare a few we're in for a slow week," Dad responded. Jo gave me an angry look, already knowing me too well.

"Looks like our date will have to wait, Jo. I'll go, Dad. I'll be able to do the job without you losing the extra hands." "Fair enough. Are you ready to go now?" "Absolutely. Let's do it," I replied. I hugged Dad and winked at Jo as Kal and I left to meet up with his crew. "What happened with the Order?" "They denied me the chance of becoming a Jedi Knight, on the grounds of me being too arrogant and using Force Lightning. They also told me expulsion had been discussed before…"

"So you decided it was time to be the head nerf and leave the herd. You are definitely your father's son." "How long have you known my dad?" "We met forty years ago, thirty six years before the Great Resynchronization. I was ten, so your father must have been twelve." "What happened to my mother?" Kal sighed at that question. "Your mother vanished one day, about eight years ago. No one has heard from her since."

"Skirata! Did you find more men to help us?" a man in front of us asked. "Yes, sir. He's right here." "How the hell is one person going to move a cargo full of supplies with no help whatsoever?" the man asked. I looked at the speeder he was sitting in and raised it off the ground by five feet. "That's how. He's a Jedi, Charles." "You call me 'sir', Skirata." I've done more in my twenty three years than you ever could," Charles said smugly.

I dropped my hand down to my side, making the speeder crash to the ground. People around us avoided walking near the speeder but did not run away screaming as I grabbed Charles by the collar of his expensive shirt. ""Let's set the datapad straight now- the only reason you're the Captain of this mission is because your daddy runs the company and thinks it is time to see if you're worth keeping around.

If you insult Kal Skirata once more, I'll make that decision for him. Understood?" I got my point across and dropped Chuck back into the seat, making him drive off towards the spaceport while Kal laughed.

"You certainly have a way with people." "I do my best- Maybe the Council was right- I _am _quick to anger these days." "It's not hard to get angry when you're around him for more than a minute." I laughed at that as we continued on foot to the freighter. ***

"Has the target been eliminated?" Dooku asked his personal bounty hunter. He won't be a problem anymore. At least not when I locate him again." "You LOST him?" "I misplaced him. He was exactly where my informant said he would be. He took everything I threw at him until reinforcements arrived. I was outgunned, Tyranus. Even I know when to back down from an engagement that will end badly for me."

"You didn't have a problem slaughtering the Jedi at Galidraan so long ago." "Killing those six Jedi with my bare hands took considerable skill on my part. And that was thirteen years ago. A lot has changed since then." "You have a son, Jango. Not a scapegoat for your failures." "Is there anything else I can help you with?" Jango interrupted. Dooku smiled at the interruption. "Don't forget who gave you everything you have now, Fett. Find the Jedi and kill him." ***

"Here are the supplies you require, Enacca. But I'm afraid the price is higher than we originally negotiated." My eyes snapped open as Chuck finished his statement. Enacca whined in her language that she struggled to find the credits for the original price. "Listen here, you giant carpet. I WILL get the new price or you don't get your supplies." Enacca grabbed Chuck by his shoulders and started clamping down.

"Jedi! Use your mind trick on her! Get her to stop!" Enacca looked at me as she continued tightening. "I suggest you give them this load free of charge, Chuck." He raged at the thought until Enacca clamped down for the last time.

"OKAY! This load is free!" Chuck screeched. Enacca roared happily as she let go of him. She gestured for two of her fellow wookiees to start unloading the supplies but I did it for them. I was loading the last box into their transports when I heard the sound of a blaster going off. My eyes snapped open for a second time as I saw the horror of the situation- Chuck shot a Wookiee point blank in the stomach.

As I ran to him, the other Wookiee kicked Chuck square in the chest, sending him to his death over the railing into the Shadowlands. "KAL! I NEED BACTA!" I yelled as I held the Wookiee's paw in my left hand and used The Force on his wound with my right. Despite my best efforts at healing him, he died right there in my grip. Every Wookiee I sensed nearby roared in anger as I cradled him.

Tears started flowing as Kal pulled me away from the warrior. "Where are we going?" "We're going back aboard the ship for now. We will be invited to pay our respects when the warrior's wound has been dressed. There's nothing we can do." Once we were aboard the ship, Kal put in a call to chuck's father to give him the news while I contemplated if this was the life I wanted. ***

"Heard from Dan yet?" Brandy asked. "Not yet. It's been nearly two weeks and not even Master Drallig has heard from him. I hope he's all right," I replied. "I've heard a rumor that Jango Fett picked up a 2 million credit bounty on him; no one knows who placed it," Crystal replied. "He'll be in contact when he has time," Brandy said as I started eating. ***

"What was his name, Enacca?" Kal asked as I stood beside the fallen warrior. At her response, Kal sighed heavily. "The warrior's name is Kabacca. He is Enacca's son." I looked at Enacca and communicated my sympathies for her loss, making her roar heartily that she understood me. I tried to avoid the massive hug she grappled me into but it was no use- Enacca had at least twice my strength on a bad day.

As she set me back down, another Wookiee grabbed a torch and set it in the lumber pile beneath Kabacca's body. In a matter of moments, his body was set alight and remained so until late in the evening. Kal and I returned to the crew of thirteen others once Kabacca's remains were scattered by the wind and sleep quickly took me. ***

"He has gone to Kashyyyk with Skirata's crew to deliver supplies to Wookiee fighters there. They won't be back for at least four days," my informant told me. "Good job, Jo. Your usual fee has been wired to your account. Keep me posted." "I will, Jango. Joelle, out." ***

"Three days ago, a bounty hunter attempted to collect on Daniel. The assassination attempt failed, but there is a two million credit bounty on his head. What are the Masters prepared to do?" Obi-Wan asked. "Us? Why would we get involved?" Master Windu asked. Ob-Wan gaped at the thought. "His life would not be in danger if he wasn't forced to leave the Order," Obi-Wan argued.

"He was not forced to leave the Order, Obi-Wan. He was forced to see hi arrogance and chose to leave." "Correct, Obi-Wan is. Forced Daniel away, we did," Master Yoda said as the three Jedi sat together in a meditation chamber. "But he WAS over confident in his abilities," Master Windu responded. "But that doesn't warrant tossing him aside," Obi-Wan retorted. "Wrong we were, to throw him out. But his own path, Daniel must follow." ***

I woke the next morning to the sound of blasters going off outside the ship, and ran out to find a trio of Trandoshans shooting at a pinned down Wookiee. "CEASE FIRE NOW!" I called, using The Force to amplify my voice over the blasters discharging their lethal rounds. Instead of complying, their started aiming at me.

My lightsaber- _Qui-Gon's _lightsaber- was in my hand before they thought to pull the trigger as I Force Jumped to the Wookiee's side. He roared angrily as the Trandoshans continued firing. "What's your name?" I called, deflecting bolts away harmlessly. The Wookiee groaned as a bolt singed the top of his head harmlessly. "Chewbacca? Nice to meet you, Chewie. I'm Dan Updike. I am- was- a Jedi Knight until recent weeks."

Chewie seemed interested to know the rest, but wanted to wait until we weren't pinned down by blasterfire. "Couldn't agree more, pal." With that, I leapt over to the Trandoshans and kicked the leader in the snout. I used The Force to yank the blasters from their hands and pinned them against a massive tree as Chewie tied them all together with a length of vine. "Chewie! What the hell happened to the crew?"

I asked as a few other Wookiee warriors joined us. He roared a response, explaining that they were leading the counterattack against the main Trandoshan force. "Round up any troops you can spare, Chewie. We're going to take your homes back." Chewie and his companions roared in agreement as we headed in the direction the crew were last seen. By the time we arrived to reinforce Kal and the crew, we had a company of 65 Wookiees armed with bowcasters and spears for close combat.

I sensed Kal directing the counterattack from a hill that was well protected from ground troops before leading the reinforcements to him. "Good to see you could join us," Kal laughed while Enacca instructed the fresh troops where to go. "Why didn't you wake me?" "I tried to. We all died, but you were in a coma." "That's strange. I woke up as soon as I heard blasterfire. Where do we stand?"

"The Trandoshans outnumber us three to one and continue to try and take this hill. Every time they make a push we mow them down but we're starting to run out of ammunition for the bowcasters and need more troops." "Some of the Wookiees I came across have gone to other villages to recruit more help and should be here soon. Do we have any more bowcaster rounds on the ship?"

"There's one more cache in the hidden compartment but they're for one last dropoff." "I'll go get them- whatever extras we have after we're done here can replenish it to make the delivery on time." Before I had the chance to leave, another attack was made by the Trandoshans. "Where's our weak point?" "The right flank is the worst- There are four paths the Trandoshans can attack from."

I looked at Chewbacca, seeing that he was more than ready for battle. "Chewie, get fifteen Wookiees together. Ten will join you and I on the right flank. The other five will come here to Kal to get the location of the hidden compartment and go for more supplies and troops."

Chewie roared his agreement as I unhooked Qui-Gon's lightsaber and went down to the right flank. The thirty Wookiees that were already stationed there were frantically reloading their bowcasters before the Trandoshans attacked again.

"Form up on me!" I called to the Wookiees before igniting Qui-Gon's lightsaber and watching the enemy get within range. They open fired on us, but not one round hit near us. The Wookiees fired back at them, the bowcaster's quarrels demolishing the enemy lines and leaving them in various states of dismemberment.

Twenty standard minutes later, the second wave came and was destroyed like the first. By the end of the second wave, sixteen of the Wookiees were down to one quarrel apiece. "I sure as hell hope Chewie arrives soon," I muttered to myself. ***

"Report, Darth Tyranus." "We are close to eliminating Daniel. Fett will be in position to deal with him soon." "Excellent. Everything is proceeding as I have foreseen. The young Jedi's death is crucial to our plan." ***

"It's been nearly ten hours. About damn time the Trandoshan realized they couldn't win," I said quietly as Kal and I sat down with the crew aboard the ship. "Anyone want a drink?" First Mate Donaldson asked. "Who doesn't is the better question," Kal laughed.

"How's the boss dealing with losing six of the crew in two days?" "Bobby's working on getting more crewmen now. He was joyed at losing his son, and I can't blame him. But losing half of the crew is gonna hurt business." "I'll stay on until he's got the replacements," I said automatically as Donaldson handed me a drink. "To those we've lost," Kal said, as we all raised our glasses. We took a moment of silence in honor of the lost crew before drinking. ***

"How do you fare, Fett?" "The ship is in transit now. One of my informants will meet the Jedi in an open area and give me a clear shot at him." "How will you get the drop on a Jedi? He will sense you coming." "My original informant that discovered he was coming here to Kashyyyk spiked the drinks aboard the ship.

The tonics have been specially made to keep his connection to The Force weak until I can finish the job." "Do not fail me, Jango. Too much of my Master's plan depends on his death. Should he live, our plans for the galaxy will be postponed considerably." "I won't fail, Tyranus. I rarely do." ***

When I woke the next morning we said our goodbyes to Enacca and Chewie before lifting off for the last stop on Kashyyyk. "Where is our next stop?" I asked Kal, as Donaldson and I played a game of Chance Cube. "We'll get the next shipment back on Taris, but the next stop is Tatooine. There are a few dozen moisture farmers that have ordered from three to two dozen vaporators apiece that need them as soon as possible."

"It's a good thing Chuck's dead; if he were still Captain he would sabotage the vaporators to obtain more sales at higher prices," Donaldson said before rolling the Chance Cube and losing for a third time. "And that makes three weeks of laundry duty," I laughed. "Let's hope the refreshers don't fail. I'll have to space the clothes if they fail." "Incoming comm traffic, Kal," Alice Brass called over the comm. "Patch it through, Alice."

"Is the son of Laurie Updike present?" I stiffened at my mother's name being mentioned. "He is," Kal began. "I have information regarding her location." "What's the catch?" I asked. "No catch. Meet me at the spaceport you're heading towards in Docking Bay 94." "What time shall I be there?"

"I will be there in two hours and will only remain for fifteen minutes. If you are not there, I walk and you will not hear from me again." "There will be dozen of people there. Who shall I ask for?" "Don't ask for anyone. I'll find you." When the comm went dead, I looked at Kal and laughed. "Do you think it's a trap?" "Do I look like an Admiral? You Jedi are supposed to see the future," Kal laughed.

"We CAN glimpse it from time to time but nothing is certain. Any choice we make we can see the outcome- I'd become a Dark Jedi if killed you and the crew now; as I will remain on the path I am on by not doing so." "Thanks for that. We'll delay the delivery and give you backup," Donaldson suggested. "No. Do the delivery while I meet him. He won't miss the crew standing around waiting for him to pull a blaster," I replied.

"We'll do both. Greg will stay with you and we'll deliver the supplies," Kal concluded. I looked over at Donaldson and rolled the cube. "Blue," he called. The cube hadn't even landed on red yet before he began cursing. "Four weeks it is." ***

"Have you made contact?" "I have, Jango. He will meet me on schedule. I assume you have already arrived?" "I have. I'm sending you the location in the docking bay where I can kill him without security recording it. Arrive by the time specified and you will get your bonus. Arrive one nanosecond later, and it disappears." "I will have your mark on time, Jango." "See that you do." ***

"When is he supposed to be here?" Donaldson asked through my earpiece. "Ten more minutes and he'll be here. Just keep an eye out for shady characters coming in." "Unless he's already here." "Thanks, Greg. Always making me feel paranoid at the worst possible time." I kept my eyes scanning the docking bay for a good place to make it obvious that I had arrived.

Once I found a place near the loading ramp of a brand new streamlined Corellian YT-1300 light freighter, I grabbed an old crate and sat down on it. I tried to reach out with The Force, but found that I could not do so. "I can't feel The Force," I called quietly to Donaldson.

"What do you mean?" "I mean I can't sense ANYTHING. I can't sense where you are, I can't sense if the shipment went through; I cannot sense a thing." "What can cut off your connection to The Force? Did it just now happen?" "I'm not sure. I haven't tried using The Force since we dealt with the Trandoshans two days ago."

"So you can switch it on and off at will?" "Not exactly. But when I'm comfortable enough around people, like you and the crew, I don't use The Force until there's a reason for me to be uncomfortable again." "Should we call off the meeting?" "No. Just keep your eyes peeled and I'll do the same."

"Copy that. I'll maintain comm silence until I see him." "Won't be long now. Just a few more minutes and then I can make it five weeks of laundry duty," I laughed quietly before beginning comm silence. Ten minutes went by fast, with no sign of the mysterious informant. "Might have something here," Donaldson called.

He barely finished the sentence before blasterfire erupted near the entrance to the docking bay. "Stay where you are, Jedi," a man to my left called out. "How long have you been here?" I asked, as the blasterfire continued.

"Since the ship docked in an hour ago. Walk with me, Jedi." I walked beside the hooded man until we came to a table on the opposite side of the ship. "Sit with me." As we sat down, Donaldson confirmed that he was okay. "What do you know of my mother?" "I know she didn't simply disappear on Taris. She was kidnapped." "By who? Where did they take her?" "Are you ready to hear things that will break your world?" "I am." ***

"The shipment has been delivered, Greg. How is the meeting going?" "He never showed up, Kal. It's ten minutes past the deadline. Something happened- at the exact time he was supposed to arrive a firefight broke out. Dan also lost his connection to The Force. _Shab._ Do you have eyes on him?" "He's near the loading… wait. He's gone. Dan's gone!" "Search the bay, Greg. We'll be there soon." ***

"The target is in sight, Tyranus." "Take the shot." I released the safety from my rifle and squeezed off the trigger. ***

I just cleared the freighter's hull from my line of sight when I saw Dan sitting at a table with a cloaked man. I opened a line to Kal to confirm that he was okay before a shot rang out from the shadows. Time seemed to slow down as I saw the bolt approach Dan. It was almost surreal as I saw the bolt being manipulated down until it struck him in the chest, flipping him over from his seat.

As the informant ran away in terror, I ran to my friend's body. As I cradled Dan's head, Kal and the others ran over. "Dan'ika! Wake up, son! Wake up!" I pulled back Dan's robes, revealing the bolt struck him directly in the heart, ending any chances of bringing him back to life. Kal opened a line to Daniel's father as the crew and I took Daniel's body back to the ship. "Bill? It's Kal. It is my burden to inform you of your son's death…" ***

I dropped to my knees suddenly in terrible grief as Master Drallig did the same. "What's wrong?" Anakin asked me. "Daniel… my Padawan has passed on," Cin gasped. The door of the training room opened behind us, showing Master Yoda looking on sadly. "From life, Daniel has passed. But not from memory." ***

I went from being in the docking bay one second to sitting on a rock in a vast lush yet desolate wasteland. "Where in the Nine Corellian Hells am I?" I asked out loud as the wind picked up. "Hello, Daniel." I looked behind me to see Qui-Gon Jinn standing between me and the sun.

"Qui-Gon! I'm dead, aren't I?" He smiled sadly before sitting down next to me. "Yes, my friend. You have joined me here, in the Netherworld of The Force." "Why now? We still have not found the Master of your killer." "Do you want to return? Do you want another chance at life?"

"Do I have a choice? I thought death was the end." Qui-Gon laughed at that and began swinging his feet. "Death isn't the end, Daniel. It's the beginning. Very few people have the chance to return, my son. The universe has plans for you. Will you play it, or shall we spend eternity enjoying the weather?" I smiled at that while we sat together beneath the sun. ***

It was a somber ceremony that very few people were allowed to attend. Bill and Jesse flew in from Taris as fast as possible, one day after Daniel's death. Other than the two of them, four people were present- Donaldson, Chewbacca, Enacca, and I. We sat together with only a pair of torches between the chairs to light the shadows of the spot we chose to set Daniel's pyre and told stories long into the night that spanned from his birth to his death, until Bill and Jesse stood up and grabbed the torches. ***

"I wish we had more time, son." "So do I, Qui-Gon." "Are you ready?" "As I'll ever be. Send me back." "Always thought of you as a son. Always. Tell Obi-Wan that I am at peace and that he truly is the great Jedi I knew he would become." I shook Qui-Gon's hand, before being dragged backwards and having my world go black. ***

"Daniel Updike has been eliminated, Tyranus." "And the informants?" "The informant who led him to the location is dead. The other, however, has her uses. I have relocated her to the world of Telos." "Our plans are on schedule, then. No one will stop us this time, Jango. No one can." ***

"May he rest in peace now, as was his right in life," Bill said, before he and Jesse lowered their torches. At the last possible second before the pyre was lit, Daniel's hands rose up and grabbed both of the torches and stayed his family's hands. ***


	4. And Into the Fire

*4*

31 BBY

I gasped in shock as Daniel stayed Bill and Jesse's hands, as did everyone else. "How- How did you-" Bill stuttered in amazement as Daniel pulled him and Jesse into a hug. "You did it, Dan'ika! You survived!" I called, while Enacca and Chewbacca both roared happily.

Dan let go of his family before jumping off of the pyre and sitting down, motioning for all of us to do the same. "Kal, I didn't survive. That shot to the heart killed me." He pulled down his tunic to show the scoring was still on his chest along with a scar where the bolt made its' impact. "But you're here now," Donaldson said.

"The Force revived me, Greg. I was told by an old friend of mine that the Universe has plans for me. And I WILL see those plans through." "So what now?" Jesse asked. "Now I will have to disguise myself. If Jango Fett realizes that I survived, he'll come back to finish the job."

"Something strange happened when Fett fired at you; the bolt was pushed down far more than bullet drop would have done," Donaldson said, as Dan reached out through The Force and ignited the now-empty pyre. "Someone was looking out for you, then; Jango never misses an intended head shot," I replied. "Someone who is capable of using The Force saved me, then. Did we get the informant?"

"He got away. Though I'm sure Jango put a round through his skull. Fett's the cautious type," Donaldson said. So what else will you do now, son?" Bill asked. "I was thinking something behind the scenes with the shop, actually. Or maybe helping Kal."

"Bobby has been looking for someone to take over his position in arranging deliveries. You'd need a voice scrambler but I can get one for you," I replied. "We've got a new shop being built in the Upper City. We'll need someone to run it when it's finished," Jesse said. "I'll do both, then. Just get me the scrambler and I'll get started." "Dan, you just came back from the dead. Take a few weeks off," Donaldson suggested.

"I'll be fine. Do we have the security footage?" Dan responded thoughtfully. "Enacca? Can we get the footage?" I asked, leading her to roar emphatically before climbing up into the trees to reach the Docking Bay. "We don't have to climb, do we? I think dying was enough excitement for me today," Dan laughed, which made us all laugh. "If you like, Chewie will carry you in his knapsack like a young Wookiee," Donaldson chuckled.

Chewie chuckled deeply the way only Wookiees can as the last of the pyre burned down. "The Fang is about 300 meters behind us, in a clearing. No climbing to be done," I laughed. When the pyre was no more than embers and ash, we made the return to the ship, headed towards the docking bay. ***

Later on that night once the occupied docking bays were closed to everyone but maintenance and the ship crews, Enacca managed to get Chewie and I into the security cam databanks. "94… 94. Where the hell is the databank for Docking Bay 94?" I asked aloud to Chewie. He quietly grumbled to me in response. "It's your system, Chewie! It jumps from 25 to 68 to 13…" I trailed off as Enacca grumbled in triumph. Making my way over there, I plugged in the datapad to record the data on the cameras for Docking Bay 94 for the entire day. I just got ready to enter the command to commence the upload when I heard a keycard swipe in the door we came in.

Chewie and Enacca moved to the shadows, while I stayed put and concentrated. A human maintenance worked came walking in just as I cloaked myself and the datapad with The Force. "Where are you going?" someone called into the room after him. "To clear the databanks like I do every night!"

"We need your help in Seventy Four first. Come with me; we'll dump the data when we come back through." "Fine by me." The door shut and locked behind him as I dropped the glamour and began the upload. "That was a little too close." Chewie and Enacca rumbled their agreement, as I hit the button to play the tape while it downloaded.

Out of eight security cameras, one of them managed to pick up the meeting between me and the informant at the time I specified on the search feature. At the sight of me being thrown from the chair by the impact of the bolt, I clutched my chest uncomfortably.

My corpse hadn't hit the ground before Donaldson was holding me and the informant was gone, with the rest of the crew and Kal running over to my body. When the console finally chirped to confirm it had completed the download, the three of us made it back to Docking Bay 37.

"How'd you do?" Kal asked as we boarded the ship. "Got the tapes of the meeting, but there's only one camera that picked it up. Are we all set here?" "Got everything- Thermal to track the bolt and confirm there was a Jedi or Force user there to bend it from your head to your chest;

Identification software to figure out who the informant was; and a plethora of other things to get more information." "Kal, how the hell are we going to figure out who the informant is?"

"Easy. Everyone on a ship that docks here is subject to a voiceprint. You told me yourself that the informant confirmed he arrived an hour before the meeting. So we take the data from all of the ships docked between two hours before the meeting in the event he was lying to the meeting itself.

We take shots of his stature and compare those to shots taken when the crew leaves the ship." "Fair enough. Let's get to it," I replied. "You're going to lie down and rest while WE narrow it down," Dad told me. "Dad, I'm fine." "I'm not asking, son. Go lay down." I handed Jesse the datapad before going to lay down. ***

"How do you feel?" Donaldson asked as I came back into the communications room. "I'm okay. How are we doing in here?" "Not good. The informant WAS killed by Jango; his body was found late last night." "What about the bullet?" "We're having trouble tracking it with thermal past the discharge point," Dad called out.

"Run it from the start, Jess," Kal said. Under intense magnification, I watched the round enter the frame at the start until it hit my heart and knocked me from my chair. "How does it look under thermal?" Jesse played the data, which showed Jango firing the bolt but it did not show the bolt dropping.

"Play it back." I marked the moment where the bolt went dark on the video under thermal as Jesse played it again. "Two seconds in, Jango fires. But why does the bolt go dark at six seconds?" I wondered aloud. "Before we pushed in to track the round we saw the trajectory of the sight he used- it was trained on your head like we thought," Dad said, leading Jesse to show it on the video.

"With the distance Fett is from me, what's the maximum drop for the rifle he's using?" "The EE-3? Round drop occurs 2 centimeters per 200 feet, or five point oh eight inches. The distance between the ledge he's on and your table is five hundred feet. That means that AT MAXIMUM the bullet would drop twelve point seven inches; but that is under wind pressure and a handful of other variables," Kal replied.

"So if the wind were blowing, the closest it would get to my heart is roughly my adam's apple. That leaves almost twelve inches left. Can we run a sim of the shot as it should have been?" "On screen now." The simulation showed the round piercing my head, as it would have free of variables. "Keep the footage on thermal until a second before the round goes dark, and reverse the polarity to show the cold instead of the heat," I thought aloud, as Jesse ran the footage within those parameters.

Instead of the bullet going dark at six seconds, the footage flowed seamlessly to it impacting me. "It DOES get bent by The Force. From eight seconds to sixteen it's dropping like a rock!" "It's time for Greg and I to get back to the ship. We'll have the distorter in two days, Dan'ika. When you arrive back at Taris, I'll have Bobby come by to set up the operation," Kal said, before he and Donaldson left.

"Are we ready to go home?" Dad asked as we took a break from viewing the footage. "Might as well. We've got more data than we have screens," Jesse said. "Coming with us, Chewie?" I asked, leading him to roar happily. "Enacca?" Enacca replied that she would remain on Kashyyyk for the present but one day would come to visit us.

An hour later, the four of us were leaving the planet with Dad and Jesse piloting and Chewie and I pouring over the footage again. "Are there any suspicious looking people on camera at the time Fett shoots me?" Chewie laughed at that question. "Other than everyone, I mean. Is there anyone who doesn't run away when the round goes off?" Chewie responded by pulling up footage of a man standing towards the table I was at.

"What does he do when Fett shoots?" The tape showed the cloaked man moving his hand downward slightly before walking away. "Is there a shot of his face on any of the cameras?" After a few moments of the computer searching, it showed the man's face somewhat as he entered the bay a full hour before I arrived. Chewie growled that he doubted the man was an ally.

"Why would he save me just to kill me, Chewie? Unless he wants me to turn to the Dark Side." Another grumble. "I've been wondering that myself. Since The Force healed my heart and brought me back, would it have healed my brain and skull? And if so, why did the man redirect it to my heart?"

As if responding to my question, the ship was suddenly yanked from hyperspace. "Dad, hat the hell's going on up there?" "Pirates have us trapped in an interdiction field. Two light transports are headed our way, son. Prepare to boarded." Chewie grabbed his bowcaster and followed me to the docking ring. "Did you have to choose the YT-1250, dad? There are two access ramps," I grumbled to myself, as Chewie and I split up.

"Join us up here in the cockpit, son. I've given them our surrender." Chewie roared in disappointment as we took the walk to the cockpit. Jesse had already killed the engines when we came in and sat down. Ten minutes later we were ordered to the starboard docking ramp. Dad led us, with Chewie and I bringing up the rear. We walked around the corner with our weapons at the ready, only to find some 30 men training THEIR weapons on us.

"Don't even think about it," a pompous young pirate said as I reached for Qui-Gon's lightsaber. "I'd listen to him, boy. Garris Shrike doesn't give a second warning," one of the older men said calmly.

"What do you want from us?" Dad asked. "Depends on what you have in the cargo holds," Shrike replied. "Two swoops, a three-man landspeeder, and a spare hyperdrive," Jesse responded. "Looks like we hit the big one this time, boys. We'll be taking both swoops and the hyperdrive. We'll leave you the landspeeder," Shrike said, motioning for the thugs to head to the hold.

"How nice of you," I said sarcastically as he pressed his blaster to my forehead. "You've got three seconds to put that blaster down," I said calmly. "Funny. I thought YOU had three seconds to live," he sneered.

"One." I saw Chewie readying to grab his bowcaster from his shoulder. "Two." The two remaining crew of Shrike's team readied themselves for action, as well. Instead of counting to three, I blasted the two crew members back through the docking ramp with one hand and disarmed Shrike with the other.

His blaster hand became useless after the loud snap of his wrist breaking. Chewie stifled his scream while Dad shut the docking ramp. "Hope they got the vent closed in time," I said absently, as Jesse searched for Shrike's blaster. "One scream and you're a dead man," Dad told Shrike, as Chewie removed his hand from Shrike's mouth. "What planet are we closest to?" I asked as I led to Shrike towards the cargo hold with Chewie next to me.

"We're about three parsecs from Contruum," he said tightly as I unclipped Qui-Gon's lightsaber and pressed the hilt against his side before we walked into the hold. "If you would all kindly step away from the cargo, your 'fearless' leader would appreciate it," Jesse said, making the twenty-some odd pirates quickly turn around to witness us holding Shrike at lightsaber and blaster point. Their response was to draw their rifles and train them on us. "Stand down, men. Leave the cargo," Shrike responded.

"Don't worry, Garris. We shouldn't have a problem taking them out and leaving you alive," a cocky young girl said. "You got some fire to you. What's your name?" "Britt. Britt Smith." "Well, Ms. Smith, do your parents know you're a pirate? What do they think about it?" "I ran away from home a long time ago. I'm sure they think I'm dead by now." "Would you like to show them otherwise?" Dad interrupted. I saw her eyes sparkle momentarily before becoming hard brown orbs once again.

"I didn't need them; if I did, I wouldn't have run away when I was fourteen." "Enough chitchat. Everyone stand down. THAT'S AN ORDER!" Shrike yelled. Everyone, including Britt, set their weapons down before heading to the remaining docking ramp. I kept my hilt pressed against Shrike's side until everyone was in. "Last chance, Britt," I called, being prepared for her to refuse.

Instead, she looked at me oddly. "Why are you giving me a second chance?" "Everyone deserves a second chance, Britt." "Where's our second chance?" Shrike asked. "You're still alive, aren't you?" Jesse replied, making Chewie chuckle.

"What's the catch?" she asked, walking to the front of the crowd. "No catch. You come with us to our destination and we'll get you transport home," Dad replied. The ship was suddenly rocked turbolaser fire, leading Dad and Jesse to rush to the cockpit. "Last chance."

Britt ran back aboard the ship as I Force shoved Shrike to the crew. "Keep treating people the way you do, Shrike, and you won't see fifty. You've got twenty seconds before I vent you." Chewie shut the airlock and waited to launch the docking ring. "They're clear. Do it, Chewie." The moment we were clear, the ship powered forward as Britt looked at me. "What can I do?"

"Chewie? Give Dad and Jess a hand in the cockpit. Britt and I will handle the quad turrets." "Any preference of turret?" Britt asked as we got to the access ladder. "Not at all." "I'll take the dorsal turret, then." Britt climbed up top when I got down into the ventral turret. "Put 'em in the Money Lane, Jess. We're all ready down here," I called into the headset.

"Navicomputer is picking up the route we were on before, but the interdiction field is still up. Hold them off until we can jump." "Any idea when that will be?" "Should only be twenty minutes if the one with the gravity well projector doesn't chase us." "Britt, which ship has the projector?" I called into the headset.

"The YG-4210 has it. The Anxarta-class light freighter is a decoy from the fortytwo because of its' size." "The fortytwo it is, then." Dad and Jesse kept the ship steady during our retreat, while Britt and I held back the pirates. The 4210 stayed where it was, but the lightly crewed Anxarta continued the chase. "We need more time back there! See what you can do," Dad called out.

Britt continued to batter their shields but I noticed it wasn't doing much good at holding them off. Instead of me adding to the battle with the quad turret, I reached out with The Force to the Anxarta's hyperdrive and destroyed the fusion generator that powered it. "Jess, reach out to Contruum's security force and let them know about these clowns. The Anxarta's hyperdrive is now dead so they'll have trouble escaping."

"Scratch that, son. It will draw too much attention. Shrike will realize who you are and begin to talk. The less intel he has, the better off we are." "We have to do SOMETHING about them, Dad. They can't keep robbing people," I argued. "I won't lose you again, son. You boys are my life."

"I'll contact the security force of Contruum when we arrive at our destination. Shrike's base is there," Britt said, heading off the rapidly growing argument. "Five more minutes is all we need. Just give us five more minutes," Jess called out as I raked fire across the Anxarta's bow. The ship rocked once more as she returned fire, making me absently register that the shields were down to eighty percent.

"And we're outta here!" Jesse finally called, before we went to hyperspace. I took my time exiting the turret, not feeling good about leaving the pirates to rob another ship. Britt met me at the crew lounge, where we sat together at the table. "So who are you, really? Why is your dad so worried about you?"

"It's probably a good thing that you don't recognize me. My name's Dan Updike. Until recently, I was a Jedi." "I've heard of you! I heard Jango Fett put a bullet in your heart." That prompted me to show her the scar. "I died but for some strange reason, The Force decided it wasn't time for me to go. After healing my heart, it revived me and told me that my future was too important to end there in the docking bay on Kashyyyk. "So what will you do now?"

"What I did before, I suppose- continue working with my family and become a better and stronger Jedi. I may not be in the Order, but I still have a duty to people who need help." "But why should it be you having to help them all? The Order should be doing that."

"I wonder that myself, sometimes. There aren't enough Jedi to help everyone; there aren't enough to put one on each planet in the galaxy. And the Order isn't usually involved until open conflict or all-out war begins. I think part of it is the politics- what some view as compassionate helping, others view as domination of their lives and minds.

Get enough complaints and pretty soon the Temple's funding starts getting cut. Less credits, less Jedi hopefuls are discovered from lack of transportation. And so the major crimes against life- murder, pirating, spice sales, blackmail- flourish at the idea of the Order one day not existing because politicians refuse to pay for us."

"What's the other part?" "I think the other part is that we're afraid to become Sith. It wouldn't take much for me or anyone else to turn to the Dark Side." "I've heard the Sith have been dead for a thousand years. Do you think that's true?" "Sadly, I know it's not. Do you remember the blockade of Naboo last year?"

"Of course I do. The whole galaxy was on edge for two weeks." "The whole thing was engineered by a Sith Lord. We weren't aware at first who killed Qui-Gon Jinn, but we now know it was the apprentice, who was killed by Obi-Wan Kenobi shortly after." "Would you find this Sith Lord?"

"If I could? Absolutely. Ending the Sith would make the galaxy a much better place; we've got a lot of the Sith holocrons under lock and key but some have escaped us. Without those holocrons or Sith Masters, Dark Jedi would simply be Dark Jedi."

"But shouldn't the Order prevent them from becoming Dark Jedi?" Britt argued. "Becoming dark isn't turning on or off a switch; you CAN go Dark Side with one action such as killing an innocent person but it is usually over a long period of time. If a Jedi goes dark, then he shouldn't have been a Jedi to begin with."

"What leads to the Dark Side?" "A number of things can lead to the Dark Side: fear; anger; hatred; the rawest of emotions are steps along the path. Attachment and possession are forbidden. As is love, but I disagree with that entirely." "Why do you disagree with it?"

"I think love helps you in a variety of ways- it fills an emotional void in all of us. It also helps us to view something higher than ourselves. Lastly, it helps me make my fighting more defensive." "In my experience, love doesn't end well." I looked her in the eye at that point. "Well, he was obviously a fool." ***

"Welcome home," Jesse said, as I sat down in the new office my dad gave me until the new shop was finished. "Gonna stick around?" I asked Britt as she sat down. "The next shuttle to Tralus doesn't arrive for three days, so I'll be here for a while longer."

"Kal's picked up the distorter; he'll drop it off later and Bobby will be tomorrow," Dad said, before going off to continue working. "On that note, I'm gonna get back to work. The sublight I was tuning before we left needs one more adjustment," Jesse said, leaving the three of us with Chewie sitting uncomfortably in an undersized chair.

"Kal? Kal Skirata?" Britt asked. "Yeah. How do you know him?" "Kal Skirata is a friend of my father. He's like an uncle to me." "So why did you leave home?" "My mother and father own a series of both naval and space-traveling yachts. I didn't want to become the next owner of the business; I wanted to be a fighter pilot for the Judicial Forces. We agreed that I would be allowed to join the Raithal Academy at the age of seventeen when I was twelve years old, and would spend two years learning how to run the family business in the meantime.

I spent two years learning about every aspect of running the business from customer service to repairing and maintaining both forms of yacht. When I was fourteen I began refining my piloting skills and started to fill out my academy application. My parents tore up my application and refused to consent for me to join when I was old enough to apply; so I left."

"How'd you get involved with Shrike and his crew?" "When I left I caught a freighter to Corellia. Once I got there, he hired me to join the crew." "So why leave them behind? Why come with us?" "When I joined, Shrike's father was in charge of things. We did honest work- shuttling refugees and supplies from one planet to the next. Somewhere along the way, we became pirates.

Shrike killed his father in a 'dueling accident' and had all of the original crew with the exception of his brother and I either fired or killed; some for arguing with him over becoming pirates, others simply because of his hatred for their species." "You'd think that people like him had died out completely by now. Other species have just as much right to this galaxy as we do."

Chewie roared happily at that. "It's got nothing to do with you ripping my arms from the sockets, Chewie. It's the simple fact that one of your people being a Madclaw doesn't make your entire race insane and deserving of mistreatment or death."

"What's a Madclaw?" "A Madclaw is a Wookiee that uses his claws as weapons in battle against another Wookiee; a Wookiee's claws are tools, not weapons to use against each other. It is the most dishonorable things that a Wookiee can do. If a Wookiee does it, it leads to automatic exile." Chewie burbled appreciatively, asking where I learned that.

"Master Tyvokka taught me much of your culture. I can speak some of your language, but cannot do it justice. He helped raise me until his death when I was three years old; after that, Master Yoda decided I was ready to be trained as a Youngling." Chewie chuckled at my murdering of his language. "Much more of that and I'll shave you bald." ***

The Republic has become corrupt. The Senate, nothing more than a circus to view squabbling senators waste their days on issues that don't matter; my Master has shown me that through leading by example. He pretends to be different from them, but he is not. Darth Sidious is weak, unfit to be a Sith Lord.

I recently saved the life of a former Jedi student that reminds me much of my former Padawan, Qui-Gon Jinn. With Daniel Updike's help, I will eliminate my Master and take control of the galaxy. I swear this on my name, Darth Tyranus.


	5. A Step Down the Path

*5*

"Kal. Welcome back to Taris," I said, as he came into my office. "Got the distorter all ready to go." He set it on my desk and took a seat next to Chewie. "We picked up someone on the way home that you know." "And who is that, Dan'ika?" "Me. Hello, Uncle Kal." Britt came in to join us, sitting on my desk next to me. "Brittany! How have you been? It's been two years since I've heard from you." "I've been okay. Ran away from home, joined some pirates, and now I'm headed back home." "Your mother will be happy to see you." "And my father?" I sensed Kal's reply before he made it, and put my hand on Britt's.

"Your father passed away six months ago, Brittany. His heart failed him." Chewie grumbled sadly as I squeezed Britt's hand in my own. A few tears escaped down her face before she wiped them away with her free hand. She squeezed my hand hard, but pressed on. "What happened to the business?" "It's still intact. The board keeps pushing for the majority stake. Your mother's cut the naval ships from ten to five, and put those funds and crews into three more space cruisers to bring the number to fifteen." "What about the other five?" "She plans to sell out those shares and invest them in another branch on Taris, of all places." "I'm going back in three days."

"Should I go with you, or let them know you're coming?" Kal asked. "No. This is for me to do on my own. I'll be okay." "In any event, Bobby will be here tomorrow to give you the reins. If you have any questions..." "I know where to find you," I laughed, echoing our first meeting's goodbye. I gripped his arm in a Mandalorian handshake as he took his leave. "Let's go for a walk. Chewie? We'll see you later." Chewie roared his agreement as I put my hood up and left with Britt, hand in hand. "I can't believe he's gone." "I'm at a loss for words, Britt. I really am. If I could bring him back…"

"You would. I know that, Danny. I remember when I was five my dad and I went to an amusement park on Alderaan. We rode the rides for two straight days, not stopping except for sleep. The last day, we rode the same ride from sunup to sundown. He would do anything if it made me smile." "So would I. how can I help, Britt?" she smiled at that as we walked out into the streets. "Stay with me until I leave. After that… come to Tralus to see me when you can." "I've got a better idea.

You come back here when the new branch is being built." And with that, I pulled Britt in close to me, brushed the hair from her eyes, and kissed her. It seemed to last an eternity but it wasn't long enough. I kissed her again and again until my lips started to hurt. When I finally pulled away from her, she chuckled. "What's so funny?" "The fact that it took you this long to kiss me." That made me start laughing as we continued walking. "Where should we go?" "Just walk with me." "Can do." ***

"Do you have everything you need?" "All set. Thanks a lot, Bobby." "First contracts will be in touch within the hour. Three crews are free at the moment. Good luck, son." As Bobby left, my commlink chirped. I put on the distorter and answered it. "Callsign?" "Zerek-Dorn-Forn." "Kal, good to hear from you. As you are today's first caller, it's your choice of dropoffs." "And the options are?" "Medical to Naboo, Parts to Kuat, Arms to Kashyyyk." "I suppose I'll take the obvious choice in the flight to Kashyyyk." "Data packet being sent now." "Received." "Until next time, Kal."

A knock came at my door as I took the distorter off of my face. "Come in." Dad came in wiping his hands off." "Early closing today, son. Spend the day with her." "Thanks, Dad." Twenty minutes later, Britt and I were watching the sunset from the top of one of the tallest buildings in the Upper City. "Last day." "Can't believe I'm going home tomorrow." "Me, either. What else do you want to do tonight before you leave?" "I'm not sure. Maybe dinner. Stay with me tonight." "You know I will." ***

"When will we arrive at Tralus?" Shrike asked his brother, Larrad. We'll be there in two days if we can avoid the law chasing us." "I want her parent's shipyards leveled. No on left alive. She shouldn't have betrayed us." ***

"How long will it take the shuttle to get you home?" Three days. Only stop is to Bellassa, right next to Corellia. Straight shot from there." "I'll see you again." "Sooner rather than later," Britt laughed. She hugged Chewie hard before I put my arms around her. "I love you. Stay sate." "I will. Chewie? Keep an eye on him," Britt said after I kissed her. Chewie roared his agreement as she boarded the shuttle, not looking back. I put my hand on Chewie's shoulder until the shuttle vanished from sight. "Let's get some chow, Chewie. I'm starving."

Chewie rumbled quietly as we got back in the speeder. "There's another run back home in two weeks, Chewie. I know you're missing Malla. Go home to her; I won't be offended one bit." Chewie roared in argument as I pulled away into the air. "Life debt? You don't owe me a life debt, Chewie." Another roar. "I saved a lot of Wookiees that day. You don't owe me a damn thing. If you want to go see her, go see her." The response I got was an angry roar. "Chewie, it's painfully obvious you love her. How can you go into battle with bolts flying past your head constantly but not be able to tell her how you feel?" Small roar, with a shrugging motion added.

"You're the mighty Chewbacca! Have some guts, Chewie! I can tell by how you act when her name is brought up that you love her." Big roar this time. "Of course you're not a coward! We both know that! But you want to be with her Chewie; I know you do. Let's just drop it, okay?" Chewie rumbled his agreement. ***

The shuttle from Taris to Tralus wasn't very comfortable; the food was atrocious, the seating was not much more than a pillow to sit on, and the smell of the entire shuttle was terrible. Perhaps that why I'm glad to be home. "Where to, miss?" the driver asked as I got into the cab. "To Smith's Shipyard, please." "Are you here on business or pleasure?" "A little of both. I was born here; my mother owns the shipyard." "Ahh. Miss Smith! We haven't seen you around for three years. How have you been?"

"Do I know you?" "Not directly. I was a close friend of your father from the time we were kids. Your mother fired me when he died; I wasn't exactly the best at welding. Your father helped keep me in line, and I didn't react to the news that he had died well." "What's your name?" "Oh, I almost forgot. I'm Dave; Dave Zevon." ***

"How are we doing, Chewie?" Chewie roared in complaint as I handed him the hydrospanner. "Okay, okay! Don't get your bandolier in a twist! The repairs won't be completed today, anyways. The owner isn't scheduled to pick it up got three more days; we've got more than enough time to rebuild the sublights between now and then." Grumble. "The replacement parts WILL be here today." Chewie was about to respond as my commlink chirped. "Hang on, Chewie. Hello?"

"Dan? It's me. I need your help." "Calm down, Britt. What's wrong?" "My mother is dead. The shipyards have been destroyed, and I'm on the run." "Why are you running, Britt?" "Because they think I killed her. And I might have." "Why do you think that?" "I have no memory between being transported to the shipyards three days ago to 45 minutes ago." "Lay low for now. I'll be there as soon as I can." ***

"Take the Headhunter; fastest ship we have right now," Jesse said, as I gathered a survival pack together. "What route will you use to get there?" Dad asked. "I need a straight shot- past Myrkr, between Obroa-Skai and Nouane, on to Alderaan. From there, I'll take the Hydian Way to Bellassa and then jump to Tralus." "I've got an old friend with the Tralus Security Force. He owes me a few favors. I'll have him get the evidence and get in touch with you," Dad called after me as I jumped into the Headhunter.

I sealed the canopy after putting the pack behind my seat. Two minutes after typing the initial route into the navicomputer and confirming it, flight control announced that I was clear for takeoff. Using the rudder pedals, I brought the Headhunter's nose around 180 degrees and took off into the atmosphere, on the journey to discover what happened to Britt. ***

"Did you hear what happened on Tralus, Kal?" "No, Greg. What happened?" "Smith's Shipyards were destroyed; Miriam was killed. Brittany is the prime suspect, but no one can find her; she's on the run." "What evidence do they have?" "Too much to list; if I didn't know her, I would say she's guilty." "It's that bad? Who's running the business now?" "The Board of Directors is in charge now, unless Brittany is found innocent; then their claim is null and void and she takes over the family business." "Very interesting. So then we'll have to add the board to the suspect list, as well. Thank you, Greg." "Shouldn't we go after her? To exonerate her, I mean." "There's no need for that; we both know Dan'ika is already on the way there." ***

"I'm inbound to Tralus, Britt. Where are you?" "I'm twenty miles to the west of Rellidir. Comm me when you're closer; I will throw up a flare." Instead of landing in Rellidir and renting a speeder, I decided to bypass the capital altogether while I was still in the upper atmosphere. Thirteen minutes after making the correction, I saw a green flare go up 100 meters in front of me. I toggled the custom running lights twice, passing over her location. I turned around 180 degrees the next chance I had, throttling down and setting down on the open plains. I popped the canopy seal, grabbed the pack from behind my seat, and hopped to the ground. I wasn't three steps away from the Headhunter before Britt was in my arms.

"Thank you." "For what?" "For coming." We walked to her temporary base camp, a small bedroll placed beneath a copse of trees with a small fire crackling near by. "Where should we start? What do you remember, to the letter?" "An old friend of my father drove me from the docking bay to the shipyards. Then… nothing until last night. I saw my mother dead in my room, and heard sirens. I fled on foot; I got some three hundred meters away before the shipyards blew. They chased with Akk dogs for three hours, but lost my scent.' "Do you remember anyone following you from the hangars? Anyone suspicious you remember seeing?" "No one beside my father's friend; but he knew things about my dad no one outside of his closest circle of friends could know."

"Even so- he's on the list of suspects until we clear him." "So now what do we do?" "For now, we lay low. I've got a contact in the Security Force that owes me a favor; well, owes my dad a favor. I'll contact him tomorrow morning and we'll see what evidence they have against you. Until then, we enjoy the starry sky." "I can't believe she's gone." "You didn't kill her, Britt. You're being framed." "How can you be so sure?" "Because you're not a killer." ***

"Hello?" "This is Frank Vesci. I'm the detective you asked for." "Yes, sir. I have information regarding your case." "Who shall I look for?" "I'll find you." Closing the comm, I wrote a message to Britt on a piece of flimsy to take the Headhunter another twenty miles west, and I that I would meet up with her by mid evening. After an hour of using The Force to convince random speeder drivers to take me closer to Rellidir, I finally arrived in the capital. Entering the Navos Center for the Performing Arts, I expanded my awareness to find Frank Vesci. Anyone who was excited could be ruled out- Vesci would be anxious at losing his job, not excited to help.

Also, people that were fascinated could be taken out as he'd probably been to the center a hundred times. Narrowing the emotions down also drastically narrowed down the possible people. After blocking out fascination and excitement, I searched harder for curiousness and anxiousness. I found three people in the center who met up with the emotions consistent with a police officer, all of them on the fifth floor. Taking a lift up, I saw the first man was a security guard watching a crowd of suspicious people. When I located the last two, I noticed they were standing together, scanning the entrance on the other side of the floor. I casually walked towards them, sitting on the bench they were leaning against. "You boys aren't very good at observation."

"Aren't we? A friend of mine saw you board the life. We knew where you were coming from." "Fair enough. What's the extent of the evidence against her? Can they convict if we come forward?" "They've got plenty for a conviction. A lot of it is from years ago, but they've demonstrated the pattern of anger she shows towards her mother." "What about the new evidence? What is it that labels her the main suspect?" "We've got four witnesses who saw her and her mother get into a heated argument an hour before her death; her fingerprints were also found on the vibroblade. And running didn't help her case." "Is there footage of the argument?"

"Conveniently, no. The witnesses claim to have been sent home 20 minutes before the murder. Miriam was a lovely lady, but she worked her people until the clock ran out for 20 years. I think Brittany is being set up, but without concrete evidence my feelings don't mean anything. Unless we can prove the claim is false, she'll be hunted across the galaxy."

"I've got a few people for you to check out: anyone laid off by the shipyards in the last few years, the board of directors, and a man named David Zevon. Zerek, Esk, Vev, Osk, Nern." "We can do that. Are you ready to sync up?" "Yes, sir." Ten minutes later, I was sitting in the backseat of a speeder looking over the evidence as the owner of said speeder headed west. ***

"How bad is it?" "Awful, Kal'buir. They're taking previous arguments and applying them to the present. They have four separate witnesses and prints on the vibroblade. Do you know a Dave Zevon?" "Name doesn't ring a bell. Who is he?" "He claims to be one of her father's oldest friends." "Ralph had a lot of friends, but I don't recall hearing about him. What'd he do to get on your radar?" "He appeared out of nowhere when she got back onplanet, saying her mother fired him." "Motive." "He's also the last person she remembers being around before seeing her mother's dead body."

"Do you think he pulled a Joelle?" "She didn't have a drink with him; and the cabin didn't fill with smoke, either. It may have been pumped through the shuttle, but I doubt it." "What's the next step, then?" "I think I'm going to have to put her in a trance state, play the discs of audio of past arguments and go into her memory to see if anything is being repressed." "That sounds dangerous, Dan'ika. Are you sure you can do it?"

"I'm sure, Kal. Master Yoda taught me the basics as a Youngling; I learned to do it under Master Drallig. It'll be difficult to do, but it must be done." "Do you need backup?" "Not right now, Kal. They've started adding strafing runs of the landscape to the search parties. It'll be hard enough to hide the two of us from the scanners." "I can understand that. You know where to find me." "I'll see you soon, Kal." ***

"Need backup already, son?" "Skirata." "Jango. What do you want?" "I've got a job I've taken on. I'm training some troops in the art of war, and I'm putting together 100 fighters to help me. You're one of the dirtiest fighters I've ever met." "If it gets the job done…" "Oh, I'm not complaining. I wanted to see if you are willing to help me. For a hefty sum, of course." "I can always use credits. What's the catch?" "You leave behind all of your friends and family. For all they know, you're dead as of signing up."

"When do you need to know by?" "The end of this call." "What price are we talking about here?" "We can haggle when you arrive. What's your answer, Kal?" "I'll help you, Jango. Where am I going?" "There's a planet just south of the Rishi Maze. Meet me as soon as you can." "I can be there in two days." "I'll see you then." ***

"Are you sure you can do this?" "I won't eliminate any memories, Britt. The trance is to ease your mind into revealing what it is holding in. we're more likely to reveal things when we're asleep. A man by the name of Cayce on a primitive planet has been making prophecies in a trance state for a long time, and they usually come true. Are you ready?" "I am." I started the hypnosis machine and had Britt in a trance fifteen minutes later. Playing back the audio files of previous arguments between her and her mother, I carefully found the sectioned off portion of her memory and began lightly sifting through it with The Force.

It didn't take long to realize that she genuinely did not remember the past three days before waking up, meaning one of two things: she was constantly pumped full of a different strain of toxin Joelle slipped me, or she wasn't in the shipyards until she woke up. But in the second case, she would have either been unconscious the entire time or was fitted with a device to block her memory while it was on. I brought her out of the trance and shut down the audio tapes. "Do you remember anything new?" "Nothing I can… wait. I remember something."

"What is it?" "A room. It's dark; there's a metal food tray on the floor." "Do the walls have any specific marks or names on them?" "One of them has a vertical crack running through the red ferrocrete wall." "Anything else?" "I can smell saltwater wafting through the room." "It's a place near the Sea of Jarad, then. How far is the sea from the shipyards?" "A half hour drive, at the most." Dialing in Vesci's comm code, I waited for him to pick up. ***

"This is the place," Britt said, as she and I walked through the building she was held captive in. "Good thing we got ahold of Frank when we did. Two more days and they would have bulldozed the place." "This warehouse is massive. There must be 40,000 square feet in this place. Frank said the crack is along the west wall, right?" "Yes, ma'am," I laughed, putting my arm around her as we walked to the other side of the warehouse. Working our way through the rooms one at a time, we finally came across the room with the crack in the wall. "This is the room."

The room was about six feet by six feet, not much larger than a prison cell. Inside was the food tray on the floor, a small military cot, and a bucket in the corner of the room. "The bucket was the bathroom. Emptied once a day if you were lucky," Britt informed me as we sat down on the cot. I put my hands over hers as we sat together. "What's that?" she asked, pointing to the corner of the room across from us. On the ceiling of that corner, there was a small black orb. I pulled the black orb to us intact with The Force, before examining it. "It's a camera."

"I remember a man coming I once a day to take something from it when he would empty the bucket." Running my hand over the camera, my thumb bumped against a datachip. "It's completely wireless! It uses the chip to record and the data gets loaded to a terminal." "What's that mean?" "That means we should be able to track whoever held you here if this chip has anything on it. If we get the address number of the terminal, we'll find your kidnappers." ***

"Is the Jedi inside?" "He is, sir. He's got the girl with him." "Kill them both." "Yes, sir."***

I had just closed the call with Frank, telling him of the chip and the equipment we needed to scan it, when the door on the other side of the warehouse exploded in. a silver ball flew in through the gaping hole, but I realized what it was too late. The flashbang exploded, throwing my senses into disarray. My ears began ringing as I went temporarily blind. Using The Force, I pushed Britt back into the room she was held in and drew Qui-Gon's lightsaber to my hand. I felt twelve enemy presences in The Force moving to surround me and adjusted accordingly.

A moment before the first attacker fired, I brought the lightsaber around to deflect it back at him. Fighting without sight after being used to seeing the enemy moving was difficult, to say the least. The first bolt caught the man in the throat, ending his existence. The remaining eleven men attacked simultaneously, forcing me to bat away every bolt sent my way.

Two of them broke off from the group by rushing me, leading me to remove the barrels from their blasters with a quick slashing motion and sent them backwards with a shove of energy. Of the nine conscious attackers, three reloaded while the other six dropped their blasters and brought out stun batons and vibroblades. Instead of fanning out and coming at me one at a time, the six if them charged me at once. The moment before they got within range of the blade, my sight returned to me. I gave the closest guy a spinning kick to the nose, following that up by hitting the second guy with a burst of Force Lightning to make his knees buckle. The remaining four broke off to allow the other three to unload their power cells. I heavily taxed my body using Force Absorb to channel the energy from the bolts into energy to prolong my ability to fight before shoving the ranged attackers far away.

The last four men wheeled around me slowly, waiting for an opening. I gave it to them by "accidentally" tapping my lightsaber against my Cortosis wrist guard, shorting it out. I hit one of them in the head with the hilt, used his baton on two others, and yanked the last man's weapons from his hands. Before he could run out the remnants of the door, I grabbed him by his ankles with The Force and yanked hard.

His head bounced off of the floor, knocking him unconscious. Of the ten survivors, eight escaped before I could stop them. The two left behind- Broken Nose and Tripped Up- were in no shape to travel. After getting Britt out of the sealed room, we searched both men and found ID badges for the shipyards. "They worked for my mother!" "One more link in the chain. Frank? I need your help; we've been attacked at the following coordinates…" ***

"Head to this location. It's a safehouse for witnesses, completely impenetrable from the outside. I'll deliver these two ahead of time. When you arrive, you will choose a password to both open the compound and to arm the security measures. There are enough rations to last two months in the worst-case scenario." "What are they doing about the search parties?" "If they have no further evidence tomorrow, it will be called to an end. The Board of Directors is split on what action to take next- to sell out, or to rebuild. The fact that this team works for the company will benefit you, Brittany. If you can track the kidnappers, we can clear you of all the charges against you." "Who are the big players on the Board?"

"Jay Wilcox has 5 of the members remaining loyal to the family pushing to rebuild and to clear your name. James Harper has the other five pushing to sell and hunt you down." "I'm not shocked by that. My father and Harper never agreed on anything; all he's looking for is a quick profit." "Is the scanning equipment at the safehouse, Frank?" "It's all set up and ready to go in the Communications Room off of the bedrooms." "We'll be in touch when we have discovered something new, Frank. Thanks." After shaking his hand Britt and I returned to the Headhunter, making the tight fit before heading off to the safehouse. ***

"Ready for your new assignment, are you, my young Padawan?" Master Yoda asked his apprentice, Brandy Smith. "I'm ready, Master. Where will I be going this time?" "You will take your new lightsaber to Tralus with you, Brandy. You are to investigate the explosion of the shipyards there. The government has given you clearance to the shipyards to discover whether the owner's daughter is responsible for the murders and explosion of the facility or not. Your contact is the detective in charge of the case, Frank Vesci," Master Windu said aloud. "When do I leave?" "In two hours. Be ready by that time." ***

"Quaint little place we've got here," I laughed, loading the datachip into the scanner that Frank provided. "The two hitmen are still unconscious down in the holding cells. How are you going to find out who THEY work for?" Britt asked, as the scan started. "Well, there are three ways I can do it- I can use The Force to persuade them to talk, put them in a trance and sift through their memories, or I can get primitive and beat it out of them." "So you've only got the first two options, then." "Pretty much. The beating is a last-ditch effort if I can't get the information with The Force." Ten minutes later, the scanner beeped to inform us it had finished its' work. "What have we got?" Britt asked.

"The camera in question- serial number HCQ-2021- was purchased along with 2020 through 2025 from Mason's Security in Rellidir. Along with the cameras, seventeen datachips were also purchased, including the chip within my processor at the moment," the system's artificial intelligence said in a tinny voice. "Was there anything on the chip itself?" "One moment." Several seconds later, it responded to my question.

"Though this particular chip is empty of information before your arrival, it did transmit to the terminal location being printed out now." Video of us entering the warehouse began playing at that point on the wall in front of us. "That explains how the hitmen knew we had arrived," Britt said as I started to read the location of the terminal. "Does this address look familiar?" I asked, handing Britt the piece of paper. "It's James Harper's residence five miles east of Rellidir." "Put in a call to Frank about this; I'm going to call in backup." "Kal?" "Who else?" ***

"Donaldson? It's me; Where's Kal?" "I'm not sure, Dan. We docked into Nar Shaddaa two hours after your call, and he hasn't come back yet; it's been three hours since we heard from him." "Anyone trustworthy you've got near Tralus? I need some backup." "How many guys do you need?" "Three should work- 2 guys for enforcement and a girl that looks like Britt we can pass off as the heir to the company?" "What are you thinking?" "We're going to make Harper out to be the murderer he is." ***

Compared to the past missions Master Yoda has sent me on, this one should be a breeze. With all of the resources set out before me, essentially all I have to do is go to the remnants of the shipyards and read what The Force offers me. Boarding the shuttle to Tralus, I found my cabin and locked the door behind me, determined to solve this case. ***

"We've got a problem, Dan." "What is it, Frank?" "The Jedi are sending someone to work the case with me." "Who are they sending?" "A Padawan by the last name of Smith." "We do have a problem, then. Brandy's going to know my presence the moment she enters the system." "What should I do?" "Don't lie to her; she hates being lied to more than anything. If she brings us up, let her know where we are." "Shouldn't we do the exact opposite? Yoda will read her like a book and know you survived," Britt pointed out. "If anyone has a better idea, I am open to suggestions."

"Is it still alive in the undercity?" "We send a probe droid in every month. It was alive last month. It won't be easy to get to; the TSF has cordoned off most of the old ways of reaching it." "Hello? Anyone care to fill me in?" I asked. "The Undercity… there's a Taozin in the undercity of Rellidir," Frank clarified. "Oh, no. I don't stand a chance in the Nine Corellian Hells against one of those things. Three Jedi MASTERS fought the one on Coruscant and didn't make it out alive; how the hell am I supposed to?" "I've heard of Taozin that are weak against Force Lightning; you should be able to use it to soften up the skin before carving some off," Britt said. Sighing heavily, I went back to my work. "Set it up. We're dead in the water otherwise." ***

"Can you hear me?" "Loud and clear, Frank. So this route runs directly underneath the Taozin?" "Copy that. You should be able to get enough skin for the three of us easily." "And if it burrowed down and I'm walking towards its' head?" "The chances of that are 300 million to one." "Never tell him the odds," Britt interrupted. "When will she be here?" "The shuttle arrives in thirteen hours. Plenty of time between now and then to get you back to the safehouse, WITH the Taozin skin in tow."

"Says the guy back on the surface." I used the night vision goggles Frank provided me with to move through the darkness, and tried not to rely on The Force for two reasons- the first being that I wouldn't be able to sense the Taozin anyway; and the second being that I wanted to be strong enough to skin it and get away as fast as I could.

"The nest should be 300 meters in front of you. Can you see it?" "Frank I can't see THIRTY meters in front of me." "Copy that." I unclipped Qui-Gon's lightsaber and took out a thermal detonator in my left hand, continuing to walk toward the location of the nest. "Anything yet?" "I'm ten meters away; I can't see anything, Frank. What's going on?" "The Taozin was right there three weeks ago. It can't have made a new tunnel since then." "I can see clear over to the other side of the pathway, Frank. The Taozin ain't here." Stretching out with The Force, I wasn't surprised to feel nothing nearby.

I had just started to tell Frank that I was on my way back up when I stepped on something soft. Looking down, I was shocked to see an eye staring back up at me. There was no roar from the Taozin; it just stared up at me, with pain in its' eyes. It was then that I realized it was dying. Igniting my lightsaber, I looked directly into the Taozin's massive, beady black eyes. It seemed to perk up after realizing that it was about to pass on. Using Force Lightning, I softened up a 2 feet long piece of skin before carving it off. The pain returned to its eyes until I put the skin into my hip pack. "One more thing to do." The Taozin opened its' mouth as I thumbed the thermal detonator on and dropped it in. I ran back the way I entered as the detonator went off; I felt the Taozin's spirit thank me for helping it move on, confirming the Taozin could reveal its' presence by choice. "What happened?" Frank asked. "The TSF starved the Taozin by cordoning it off. I finished it off." "Got the skin?" "I've got it. On the way back up now." ***

"Found the two guys and the girl, Dan. She looks very similar to Brit. They'll arrive at Tralus in three hours. Where are they headed?" "The TSF barracks in Rellidir. You know who to send them to. Anything yet?" "Nothing. The Fang is still in your dad's shop on Taris. "Kal hasn't claimed the Fang? Something must really be wrong." "I know. The crew has put me in charge for the time being." "If anyone can do it, it's you." "I've got to get back, Dan. If you need anything else, give me a ring." Hanging up after the call with Donaldson, I went back to cutting the Taozin skin into 1 inch by 1 inch pieces, making a total of 72 of them with the skin I took off. "What's the plan with the girl? Why does she look like me?" Britt asked, as the three of us sat together.

"We're going to bait Harper by passing her off as your older sister to confirm he called for the hit squad. As the older sister, she'll be seen as the heir to the business. We'll have Frank get a wire on her and record her interaction with Harper and the other board members and have the two guys ready to deal with the hit squad when they get there." "Brilliant; it's the quickest way to prove her innocence and to retain her as the head of the company when we reveal she's not actually Ralph's daughter. We'll have to fake a paternity test." "If anyone can pull it off, you can, Frank. I want you to flag the plan and hint at Harper's involvement to Brandy. With the Taozin skin you'll be safe from her sensing the lies, but she'll know something is up. If she asks where Britt is, tell her that you believe this whole thing is a set-up, and tell her what we've learned so far. Give her the datachip as well; I've edited it to hide my face. Tell her I'm The Peacemaker."

"I can think of worse names," Frank replied. "She'll be going to the shipyards to read the grounds with The Force, without a doubt. I want you to press her to tell every single detail you can get. The more information you can get me, the quicker we can figure out the remaining pieces of the puzzle." "What pieces are left?" Britt asked. "The biggest hurdle we have to leap over at the moment is the vibroblade with your prints on it, Brittany. Without the vibroblade, the case against you pretty much falls apart." "Any progress on the camera buyers, Frank?" "The man in question is a Cameron Harris." "He's Harper's right hand man; he's in charge of the repair department," Britt said, completely disgusted to hear his name.

"Are we tracking him?" "No one's heard from him since four hours before the bombing." The Force seemed to pulse for a moment, in time with Britt putting her hand to her forehead. "Four hours before the bombing, I pulled his vibroblade and attacked him." "There's the prints. If we can get Brandy to read Britt, she'll know Britt is telling the truth and the murder charge will be taken care of." "Won't that tell her about you? Brittany won't be wearing the Taozin skin," Frank replied. "It's a risk we'll have to take. There's another safehouse like this one, isn't there?" "There is; I'll take her there as soon as you want me to." "Take her there now; have Brandy talk to her before going to the shipyards. It will get Brandy to trust you more if you show her that you trust her enough to let her near the suspect." "What do we do after that?" "The team will be here in two hours and twenty minutes; they're going to your barracks when they arrive." "I'll fit the girl with a wire before she meets the board. Then we'll wait for the hit squad to make an attempt on her," Frank replied. "We're going to want to move the guys downstairs to the new safehouse- Brandy will be able to read them better than I can." "And what will you be doing?" Britt asked. "I'll be around. I can't go into public places at will, Britt. You know that. It's best for all of us if we hand it over to Brandy; the hitmen will give up Harper, he'll send a new squad after Lezlie, and Brandy will solve it all. We'll get you cleared of all the charges, as well." "I don't agree with the plan, but I won't be able to change your mind." "If anyone could, it would be you." ***

"Brandy? I'm Frank. Thank you for coming," the detective shook my hand, as I got into the speeder with him. "It's my duty, detective. Where does the investigation stand?" "Can I confide in you?" "Of course, Frank. What is it?" "I've got the suspect in a safehouse. All of the evidence I've discovered points to the fact that she was set up." "Set up? By who?" "A member of the Board of Directors by the name of James Harper; he never got along with Brittany's parents, has been pushing to sell for six months, and sent a team of assassins to kill her. We've got two of them detained in the basement of the safehouse. There's an overwhelming amount of evidence pointing to her innocence; she was held in a warehouse on the coast of the Sea of Jarad against her will between her arrival on the planet and a few minutes prior to finding her mother's body in her room, stabbed with the same knife she pulled on her captor's 4 hours before. An associate of mine helped her discover this place, where the team of twelve people attacked them. This associate also found a camera with a datachip in it in the room where she was held captive. We've traced the cameras back to a Cameron Harris, Harper's right hand man. We also know that the terminal that holds the data from the other cameras is within Harper's residence." "That's a substantial amount of evidence; coupled with Brittany's testimony, it may warrant clearing her name. I sense something else, Frank." "We've hired a girl that looks like she could be Britt's older sister. We're going to confirm that Harper sent the first team by having him send a second team after her." "Heir to the company. The only thing that stands between him and selling out," I thought aloud. "Exactly. If she gets attacked after meeting with Harper, we can move on his residence. By getting the remaining data off of the terminal, it will convict him and show that she's innocent." "Who is this associate of yours? He seems to be an intelligent person." "He prefers to remain anonymous; we know him as The Peacemaker." "He appears to have done all of my work for me; all that remains for me to do is confirm the information through Brittany and the two men, and to read the shipyards through The Force." "Shall we go to the shipyards first? Or do you want to speak to the suspect?" "Let's go to the safehouse first. Getting the true story will help me when I read the shipyards." ***

"We're just going to start off with a few control questions, kind of like a polygraph test." "Okay," Brittany replied. "Is your name Brittany Elizabeth Smith?" "Yes." The Force did not respond, meaning that she was telling the truth. "Are you the daughter of Ralph and Miriam Smith?" "Yes." "I want you to life for the next question; I need to calibrate my senses to be 100 percent accurate. Have you been on Tralus your entire life?" "Yes." I got a stinging feeling in the pit of my stomach, knowing that any future lies would bring the same sensation. "Ready to begin?" "Yes." "Did you kill your mother?" "No." "Did you arrange for someone to kill your mother?" "No." "Were you attacked by hitmen after finding the place where you were held hostage?" "Yes." I took a deep breath before asking my final question. "Do you know the true identity of The Peacemaker?" the question threw Brittany for a loop before answering that she didn't know. The stinging sensation returned, telling me that she was lying. "Okay, we're all set. You're innocent, Brittany. It's only a matter of time before we can get you out of this safehouse and back into the public." "Do you need anything else from me?" "Nope. I've already talked to the hitmen, as well. We're only waiting for Frank's girl to come through before we move on the Harper residence." "Okay. If you need anything from me, let me know." "I will." Brittany left the room as I turned on my datapad. "The two hitmen are adamant that the so-called "Peacemaker" wielded a green lightsaber. In a matter of minutes, I will put them into a trance and sift through their memories of this particular event. Brittany knows his true identity, but refuses to say so at this time." I shut down the datapad before heading downstairs to begin working with the hitman with the broken nose. ***

"Name?" "Lezlie Smith. I'm here to take over my father's business." "And who is your father, exactly?" "Ralph Smith- the founder of Smith's Shipyards." You could hear through the wire Lezlie was wearing that the receptionist was at a loss for words. "Board Member Jay Wilcox will see you immediately. Please, go inside." I looked over at Frank, laughing. "I don't think it gets any easier than that." "You look like him. Ralph. My name is Jay Wilcox; I'm an old friend of your father." "Lezlie Smith. I know you must be busy, so I won't waste your time. I know my younger half sister Brittany is suspected of murdering Miriam, and as such the Board is in charge of the company's future." "Unless another heir steps forward. You are aware that your father died six months ago? Why did you just now come to claim your place in the company?" "I never knew Miriam. I didn't want to appear out of the blue with my hand out. When I heard that the business's future was in jeopardy, I decided it was time to do what my father wanted me to do ten years ago." "Naturally, James Harper will be completely against your claim; he probably won't even want you to be genetically tested. And he certainly won't like it when it shows your Ralph's daughter." "You believe me?" "You look too much like Ralph to not be his daughter, Lezlie. You've got the proof that you are his daughter, correct?" "I do. TSF agent Frank Vesci has the results of the genetic testing." "I want you to bring the results with you tomorrow. The meeting with the Board starts at 10 A.M. Don't be late." "Thank you, Jay. I'll be here." ***

"The evidence that I found within the two hitmen's memories was strange to say the least. The man they attacked DID have a green lightsaber and seemed to be able to use The Force, but his face was literally blurred from their memory. The datachip also didn't show his face- any time his face was supposed to be visible the camera blurred it out. The plan to prove Britt's innocence is going as well as it could. Lezlie will be meeting with Harper and the rest of the Board tomorrow morning with the evidence that she is the heir to the company. All we have to do after the meeting is finished is wait for Harper to send the hitmen after her; we can then move on his residence to collect the rest of the data that he had Britt kidnapped. I'm not sure who this Peacemaker is, but he seems to be a former Jedi. ***

"I call this meeting of the Board to order; we've got a number of things to discuss today- chief among them is the future of our company. Yesterday, a young woman came to me with a bold but true claim- the eldest daughter of Ralph Smith, Lezlie, has come forward to save Smith's Shipyards from extinction," Jay began. The other 11 members started murmuring amongst themselves, until James Harper interrupted them. "Absurd. Ralph had one daughter, and one daughter only- the one who murdered Miriam." "It cannot be proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that my younger half-sister is guilty of murder. Detective Frank Vesci can verify my heritage. I am Ralph's daughter, and I'm here to rebuild my father's company. I'm going to make this simple- anyone who's not on board with rebuilding or with me running the company, save all of us time and leave now. This company WILL be rebuilt, and we WILL be expanding. Like my father before me, I will have the majority stake of 60 percent in the company, with the Board having 30 and the stockholders having 10. The Board will still be consulted on all matters above any other groups, unless I deem it fit to go to an outside consulter. Does anyone have a problem with these terms?" I asked, selling it as much as I could. When no one objected, the meeting actually began. "This coming week, we have enough capital to hire an additional fifty members to work cleanup. We're going to pull them from the applications we've received within the last six months. Once the entire site has been cleaned up, those who do the best will be interviewed for the positions they have applied for. Those who don't have a solid work ethic will be flushed out of the system. The contractor we currently have standing by is taking the prices of the debris being scrapped off of the cost for the job, saving us three million credits as of this meeting. The Jedi in charge of the investigation has "read" the grounds with The Force on whether or not Brittany is responsible for Miriam's death. While we wait for her ruling on the matter, we've gotten the go-ahead to finish the deconstruction process. As of this morning, the site has been 40 percent cleared, and the new plans are being drawn up. With Lezlie now as the head of the company, any motions we have been arguing over can be decided; chief among them, the plan to expand this branch and hire an extra 400 employees. Would you like to add anything, James?" "Only that I will be contacting the TSF to confirm the genetic testing done by Frank Vesci." "Don't waste your time; I have the results right here." I slid the doctored results across the table, where Harper immediately began reading them. "Who came up with the expansion idea?" I asked. "Lily did; she was your father's first choice for a board member when he started the shipyards." "Thank you for helping my father start this business, Lily. For the time being, I am going to review all of the decisions before me and decide from there. No decisions will be made regarding the business until the site has been cleared entirely. Is there anything else?" When Jay called the meeting to a close, I took my leave to get the data back to Frank. ***

"She really IS Ralph's daughter. This makes our murder of Miriam a complete waste of time. Assemble a new team. I want her taken out, as well." "Very well, Mr. Harper. It will be done." ***

"How'd it go, Frank?" "It couldn't have gone any better, Dan. Lezlie told them all plans are on hold until cleanup is finished, and Harper didn't exactly like the fact that Ralph's 'daughter' showed up. All we're waiting on now is the team to attempt to carry out the hit." "How does Brandy feel about the fact that we're using her as bait?" "She hates it as much as we do but knows it has to be done." "What did Brandy find on the shipyard grounds?" "She told me that it definitely wasn't Brittany. We can get her off, but I know you and I discussed taking Harper in first." "Exactly. Take Harper out and the option to rebuild wins 5 to 4. It would have anyway, but it doesn't hurt having one less person against her. "Where are you now?" "I'm sitting on Harper's compound at the moment. It's swarming with extra security." "So much for you laying low." "You know as well as I do that I can't hang back for long, Frank." "I'll be in touch when the team makes an attempt on Lezlie." "See you soon, Frank." ***

Three and a half hours after the phone call with Dan, the team made an attempt on Lezlie's life. Brandy held them off until they retreated, giving us the evidence to move on Harper's residence. "Are we ready?" I asked the dozen TSF agents with us, as we approached the compound. The team replied that they were, as I called Dan back. ***

"We've got sixteen men on the main gate, Frank. I'm moving on the lookouts in the tower now. Stay on the line." I ran across the roof of the main building, using The Force to leap to the top of the tower. Igniting my lightsaber, I carved through the top of it and leapt inside. The two guards didn't even reach for their weapons, opting to give up instead. "How many people are there on the residence, total?" "The compound has fifty five men guarding it- sixteen on the main gate, sixteen in the house, ten in the towers, and thirteen on the back gate." "Where in the house is the terminal?" "Harper's office, in the direct center of the house. He's got a blast door sealing him off from the rest of the house the walls are coated in Cortosis." "What are the chances of you getting the rest of these men to give up?" "Knowing a Jedi is here? Things will go a lot smoother." "I want you to transmit that I'm here. Anyone who resists will be tossed into jail; anyone who gives up will be released after questioning without a mark on their record." Ten minutes later, all of the guards outside of the compound had given up, weapons thrown down with hands high in the air. "Frank, I've got 39 guys out of 55 ready for questioning. The last sixteen are in the house itself and won't be giving up to me, at least. The gate is wide open and ready for you guys." "Copy that. Brandy is arriving in ten minutes; we';; be there in twelve." "Copy that. I'm on my way out now." ***

"How does it feel being a free woman again?" "It feels amazing, Brandy. How did it go at Harper's?" "The Peacemaker got 39 people to surrender before we arrived. We took Harper in and ten of the sixteen security men in custody. The other six I was force to cut down. What will you do now?" "Do what Lezlie started- rebuild the business. Jay wasn't happy to find out she wasn't Dad's daughter, but he understands why it had to be done. The site is sixty percent cleared now. What will you do?" "Head back to Coruscant and see what Master Yoda has planned for me next." "Be safe, Brandy." "I know you know who The Peacemaker is, Britt. I won't press you on the matter, but I will be looking into who he is." "I can't risk his safety, Brandy." "I understand. Be safe, Britt." ***

"She knows I know you. She's going to look into it." "I don't like not telling her I'm all right, but The Force has not sent me signs to clue her in. She's a good friend of mine; should she be in danger, I'll reveal that I'm alive. Until then- until then, I'll lay low." "What will you do now?" "I was thinking that you and I need a vacation, to be honest." "Count me in." ***

"Initial results show that the lightsaber used by the so-called "Peacemaker" is identical to that of Qui-Gon-Jinn's. It is known that Obi-Wan Kenobi used this lightsaber before building his current model; what happened to it afterwards is not known." "I've reached an update with The Peacemaker; the lightsaber he uses is Qui-Gon Jinn's. Obi-Wan is on a mission for the next three weeks, so the investigation is on hold until then. I should tell Master Yoda about him, but something in The Force is telling me not to. *****


End file.
